Anna Hari Salunke, also known as A. Salunke and Annasaheb Saluke, was an Indian actor who performed female roles in very early Indian cinema and also a cinematographer.
He is credited as the first person to perform as a heroine in Indian cinema when he played the role of Rani Taramati of King
Harishchandra in
Dada Saheb Phalke
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of Indian cinema". His de ...
's first full-length film, ''
Raja Harishchandra'' (1913). In 1917, Salunke became the first to play a double role in Indian cinema, by playing the roles of both the hero and heroine in ''
Lanka Dahan''.
Career
Salunke portrayed the heroine in ''
Raja Harishchandra'' (1913), the first full-length Indian feature film. He played the role of Queen Taramati, the consort of king
Harishchandra, whose tale is told in
Hindu mythology
Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and reg ...
. Salunke worked as a cook
or waiter
in a restaurant on
Grant Road,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
frequented by
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of Indian cinema". His de ...
(Dadasaheb Phalke), the director and producer of the film. Phalke could not find a woman who agreed to act in the film; even prostitutes and
dancing girls refused. Phalke saw Salunke, who had an effeminate figure and slender hands, and convinced him to play a female role. While Salunke was working for a monthly salary of 10
rupees
Rupee is the common name for the currencies of
India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
, Phalke offered him 15 and Salunke agreed.
Salunke also acted in Phalke's ''
Lanka Dahan'' (1917), played in the Hindu epic ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''. Salunke played the first double role in Indian cinema,
by playing both the male role of the hero
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
and the female role of his wife
Sita
Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...
, the heroine.
However, Salunke had developed a more muscular physique by then, and the audience could see his biceps even as he played the goddess Sita.
Salunke also acted in ''Satyanarayan'' (1922) directed by V.S. Nirantar and Phalke's ''Buddha Dev'' (1923). He was also the cinematographer on both films. Later, Salunke abandoned his acting career and fully concentrated on cinematography. Besides Nirantar and Phalke, he worked with
G. V. Sane (who acted with Salunke in ''Raja Harishchandra'') and
Ganpat G. Shinde (co-starred with Salunke in ''Lanka Dahan'') as directors. The last of his films as cinematographer were in 1931.
[CITWF](_blank)
Films
Salunke, during his film career spanning 18 years from 1913 to 1931, acted in various films including five in the female role, most of them were on
Hindu mythological themes. He was also a cinematographer in a few films.
Selected filmography
;In female roles
* ''
Raja Harishchandra'' (1913)
* ''
Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra
''Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra'' ( mr, सत्यवादी राजा हरिश्चंद्र; en, Truthful King Harishchandra) is a 1917 silent black and white Indian short film directed and produced by Dhundiraj Govind Phalk ...
'' (1917) as Taramati
* ''
Lanka Dahan'' (1922) in a double role as Seeta and also as Rama
* ''Satyanarayan'' (1922)
* ''Buddha Dev'' (1923), his last movie as an actress
;In several roles
* ''Ahiravan Mahiravan Vadh'' (1922)
* ''Haritalika'' (1922)
* ''Pandav Vanavas'' (1922)
* ''Satyanarayan'' (1922)
* ''Shishupala Vadh'' (1922)
* ''Wandering Soul'' (1923)
* ''Buddha Dev'' (1923)
* ''Gora Kumbhar'' (1923)
* ''Guru Dronacharya'' (1923)
* ''Jarasandha Vadha'' (1923)
* ''Kanya Vikraya'' (1923)
* ''Jayadratha Vadh'' (1924)
* ''Kanya Vikraya'' (1924)
* ''Ram Ravan Yuddha'' (1924)
* ''Shivajichi Agryahun Sutaka'' (1924)
* ''Sundopasund'' (1924)
* ''Anant Vrat'' (1925)
* ''Kakashebanchya Dolyat Jhanjhanit Anjan'' (1925)
* ''Satyabhama'' (1925)
* ''Simantak Mani'' (1925)
* ''Datta Janma'' (1925)
* ''Bhakta Pralhad'' (1926)
* ''Bhim Sanjeevan'' (1926)
* ''Keechaka Vadh'' (1926)
* ''Sant Eknath'' (1926)
* ''Bhakta Sudama'' (1927)
* ''Draupadi Vastraharan'' (1927)
* ''Hanuman Janma'' (1927)
* ''Madalasa'' (1927)
* ''Vasantsena'' (1929)
* ''Khuda Parasta'' (1930)
* ''Amir Khan'' (1931)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salunke, Anna
Indian male film actors
Cinematographers from Maharashtra
Year of death missing
Year of birth missing
20th-century Indian male actors
Indian male silent film actors
Hindi film cinematographers
20th-century Indian photographers