Important Event of February – 16

2020-02-16

Important Event of February – 16

Dhundiraj Govind Phalke,popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke was born on 30 April 1870.
He was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter.
He is known as the father of Indian cinema.

Early life and education

Dhundiraj Govind Phalke was born in a Marathi speaking Deshastha Brahmin family where his father was an accomplished scholar.
After passing from J.J. School in 1890, Phalke went to the Kala Bhavan, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in Vadodara, where he studied sculpture, engineering, drawing, painting and photography.

career

He made 95 movies and 26 short films in his career spanning 19 years, till 1937, including his most noted works:

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, was instituted in his honour by the Government of Indiain 1969.
The award is one of the most prestigious awards in Indian cinema and is the highest official recognition for film personalities in the country.
A postage stamp bearing his likeness was released by India Post to honour him in 1971. An honorary award from the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Mumbai was introduced in the year 2001, for lifetime achievement in Indian cinema.

In popular culture

In 2009, the Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory, which was directed by theatre veteran Paresh Mokashi and depicts Dadasaheb Phalke’s struggle in making Raja Harishchandra in 1913, was selected as India’s official entry to the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Death

During 1936–38, he produced his last film Gangavataran(1937), before retiring to Nashik, where he died on 16 February 1944.