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MUMBAI:
Film buffs fond of old classics can now watch the country's first
silent film Raja Harishchandra on DVD.
Produced
by Dadasaheb Phalke, the film was first exhibited on 3 May 1913,
is now being distributed in the DVD format by the city-based National
Film Archives of India (NFAI), according to its director Prashant
Pathrabe.
"The
decision to make DVDs of the silent movies was taken in view of
a long felt need to reach the general masses, who are interested
in having an access to the historically significant work of pioneers
of Indian cinema," Pathrabe said in a statement.
Along
with the Phalke film, five other silent films, that marked the
beginning of the Indian film industry, would also be now available
in DVD format.
Elaborating
on the significance of the first film, produced by the father
of Indian cinema, Pathrabe said, "Raja Harishchandra was
made by Phalke overcoming all odds and financial difficulties
and also social stigma attached to films a century ago. He was
almost ex-communicated (in Maharashtra). He was unable to seek
a heroine for his film and the female characters were enacted
by men. One Salunke played the female role of Taramati in this
mythological film."
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