H. S. Bhatavdekar
Harishchandra Bhatavdekar | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar 15 March 1868 |
| Died | 20 February 1958 (aged 90) |
| Other name | Save Dada |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Known for | First Indian to make a film in India |
| Works | The Wrestlers Sir Wrangler Mr. R.P. Paranjpe Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon |
Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar (15 March 1868 – 20 February 1958), also known as Save Dada, was the first Indian to make a film in India.[1][2]
Biography
[edit]H. S. Bhatavdekar was a resident of Mumbai (Bombay). A Maharashtrian portrait photographer by occupation, Bhatavdekar was one of the first witnesses to the Lumiere Brothers film show in 1896 in Mumbai.[3][4] He soon acquired a film camera from London and a projector and went on to make some films on day-to-day life of the city as also some important events. His family name was changed to Save and his descendants live on Yari Road in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Filmmaking career
[edit]"The Wrestlers" was shot during a wrestling match in Mumbai and was the first film to be shot by an Indian.[5]
H. S. Bhatavdekar's later films also were all reality films, with "Local Scenes...", "Sir Wrangler..." and "Delhi Darbar..." being of historical significance; since important personalities like R. P. Paranjpye[6] can be seen landing in India from a ship; and the proceedings of the Delhi Durbar (Delhi Royal Court). Bhatavdekar also filmed Lord Curzon at the coronation of King Edward VII in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1903.[1] Bhatavdekar can be considered the first documentary filmmaker of India,[1][2] with his films India's first newsreels.[7]
Filmography
[edit](as a director)
- The Wrestlers (1899)
- A man and his monkeys (1899)
- Local Scenes: Landing of M. M. Bhownuggree (1901)
- Atash Behram (1901)[8]
- Sir Wrangler Mr. R. P. Paranjpye (1901)
- Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon (1903)
- Delhi Durbar (1903/I)
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Subir Ghosh. "The firsts in Indian cinema". Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- 1 2 "A choronology of indian cinema (1896 -1905)". Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ↑ "History of Indian Cinema". Archived from the original on 14 February 2005. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ↑ "Hundred Years of Indian Cinema". Retrieved 14 July 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Munsi, Sharanya (15 March 2019). "HS Bhatavdekar, the Indian who created a motion picture 14 years before Dadasaheb Phalke". ThePrint. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
Sawe Dada, as he was popularly called, then proceeded to create the country's first film The Wrestlers. It was not a feature film like Phalke's Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first, but a short documentary or a factual film. The film was a recording of a wrestling match in Bombay's Hanging Garden.
- ↑ R.P. Paranjpye was the first Indian Senior Wrangler from Cambridge University who sacrificed high salary and worked as the Principal of Fergusson College, Pune for over twenty years. "Chronomedia: 1901 - December 7". Chronomedia. Terra Media. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
- ↑ Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) Archived 3 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine Foreword, 4th Mumbai International Film Festival, 1996.
- ↑ "Indian Cinema Database: Silent films". Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
