Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar (15 March 1868 – 20 February 1958), also known as Save dada, was the first Indian to make a film ( motion picture) in India.

Biography

H. S. Bhatavdekar was a resident of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(Bombay). A Maharashtrian portrait photographer by occupation, Bhatavdekar was one of the first witnesses to the Lumiere Brothers film show in 1896 in Mumbai. He soon acquired a

movie camera A movie camera (also known as a film camera and cine-camera) is a type of photographic camera that rapidly takes a sequence of photographs, either on an image sensor or onto film stock, in order to produce a moving image to project onto a movie sc ...

from London and a

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer types ...

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 in Yari Road, Mumbai. One of his descendants is named Tvisha Save living in Andheri West, Mumbai. His great-grandson, Aditya Save founded Agilio Labs and his great-granddaughter-in law Ananya founded Felicita Foods and The Little House Versova. They have a son who was born in 2007. H.S.'s grandson also acted in many plays free of cost.

Filmmaking career

"The Wrestlers" was shot during a wrestling match in

and was the first film to be shot by an Indian. 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. Paranjpe Sir Raghunath Purushottam Paranjpye (16 February 1876 – 6 May 1966) was the first Indian to achieve the coveted title of Senior Wrangler at the University of Cambridge, and became a university administrator and Indian ambassador. Early ...

can be seen landing in India from a ship; and the proceedings of the Delhi Durbar (Delhi Royal Court). Bhatavdekar also filmed

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

at the coronation of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

(Calcutta) in 1903. Bhatavdekar can be considered the first documentary filmmaker of India, with his films India's first newsreels.

Filmography

(as a director) * ''The Wrestlers'' (1899) * ''A man and his monkeys'' (1899) * ''Local Scenes: Landing of M. M. Bhownuggree'' (1901) * ''Atash Behram'' (1901) * ''Sir Wrangler Mr. R. P. Paranjpe'' (1901) * ''Delhi Durbar of Lord Curzon'' (1903) * ''Delhi Durbar'' (1903/I)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhatavdekar, H.S. 1868 births 1958 deaths Film directors from Mumbai Indian documentary filmmakers 20th-century Indian film directors 19th-century Indian film directors Indian silent film directors