Dadasaheb Phalke (born in Nashik district of Maharashtra) was a prominent director, producer and screenwriter who is considered as the father of Indian cinema. He is credited with the creation of India’s first indigenous feature film Raja Harishchandra. Phalke’s most notable movies include Raja Harishchandra (1913), Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), Satyavan Savitri (1914), Kaliya Mardan (1919) etc.
Indian cinema grew in the days of India’s struggle for freedom. Phalke conceived film making as a nationalist enterprise in line with the call of swadeshi. He declared ‘My films are swadeshi in the sense that capital, ownership and stories are all Swadeshi’. Phalke perceived his cinema as a contribution towards the struggle for self-rule. Phalke’s famous creation, Raja Harishchandra was a mythological film which drew on epic Hindu texts Ramayana and Mahabharata. It was foundational to the construction of Indian nationalism and for rousing patriotic feelings. The movie is also a ary on practices of good governance in erstwhile ancient India. This portrays how Indian cinema’s intimate relationship with the project of nationalism and patriotism began very early on.
The tradition of creating Swadeshi films continued in Indian cinema for some time and filmmakers from across the country emphasised the distinctiveness of homegrown films. The incipient Indian cinema articulated the growing national aspirations. They evoked the glory of India and how the Indian nation and its unity were rooted in the midst of time.
Source: Indian Culture Portal