''Mohini Bhasmasur'' is a 1913 Indian mythological film directed 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 ...

and starring

Kamlabai Gokhale Kamlabai Gokhale (born Kamlabai Kamath; 1900 – 17 May 1998) was one of the first actresses in Indian cinema, along with her mother Durgabai Kamat. Personal life She was the daughter of Durgabai Kamat and Anand Kamat Nasnodkar, a professor o ...

and

Durgabai Kamat Durgabai Kamat (c. 1879 – 17 May 1997) was a Marathi actress, who was the first actress in Indian cinema. Early and personal life Kamat was born in a brahmin family. She was also the maternal grandmother of veteran Marathi actor Chandrakant ...

. It is India's and Phalke's second full-length feature film. ''Mohini Bhasmasur'' is the first Indian film to have a female actor. In ''

Raja Harischandra ''Raja Harishchandra'' () is a 1913 Indian silent film directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke. It is often considered the first full-length Indian feature film. ''Raja Harishchandra'' features Dattatraya Damodar Dabke, Anna Salunke, Bhalc ...

'', India's and Phalke's first film, the role of the female was played by

Anna Salunke 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 ...

, a male.

Plot

The plot of the film revolves round the theme of the Hindu mythological story of

Mohini Mohini (Sanskrit: मोहिनी, ') is the Hindu goddess of enchantment. She is the only female avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. She is portrayed as a '' femme fatale'', an enchantress, who maddens lovers and demons, sometimes leading them ...

and

Bhasmasur In Hinduism, Bhasmasura ( sa, भस्मासुर, ) is an asura or demon, who was granted the power to burn up and immediately turn into ashes ('' bhasma'') anyone whose head he touched with his hand. The asura was tricked by the Vishnu's ...

(a) ("ash-demon"), an

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

(demon). The god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

grants Bhasmasura the power to turn anyone into ashes by touching their head. The demon decides to try the power on Shiva himself. Shiva runs terrified. The god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, witnessing the unfortunate turn of events, transforms into the seductress

and enchants Bhasmasura. Bhasmasura asks her to marry him. Mohini agrees, but only on the condition that Bhasmasura follows her move for move in a dance. In the course of the dance, she places her hand on her head. Bhasmasura mimics the action, and in turn, reduces himself to ashes. The film was of length.

Cast

''Mohini Bhasmasur'' was the first Indian film to cast a female in the woman's role.

(1900–1992), then called as Kamla Kamat, a Marathi stage actress, was cast as the heroine

and

her mother played the role of

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. Kamala was only 13 years old at the time. However, in an era where women in performing arts were compared to prostitutes, this did not set a trend and male actors continued to perform female roles in cinema for years.

Production

''Mohini Bhasmasur'' was the second feature film on a Hindu mythological theme in black and white of the silent movie era produced and directed by

(1870–1944), popularly known as

Dadasaheb Phalke Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪ʱuɳɖiɾaːd͡ʒ pʰaːɭke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke () (30 April 1870 – 16 February 1944), was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as "the Father of In ...

. He was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, costume-designer, editor, processor, printer, developer, projectionist and distributor all rolled in one, known as the father of Indian cinema, and his first film was ''Raja Harishchandra'', which released on 3 May 1913. Soon after, ''Mohini Bhasmasur'' was screened for the first time in November 1913. A one-minute short comedy film ''Pithache Panje'' (Dough Claws) was released as a "side attraction" with the film. Phalke produced four films in succession under the banner "Production Company" including ''Mohini Bhasmasur'', ''Savitri Satyavan'' (1914), ''

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) and ''

Lanka Dahan ''Lanka Dahan'' ( en, Lanka Aflame) is a 1917 Indian silent film directed by Dadasaheb Phalke. Phalke also wrote the film based on an episode of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'', credited to Valmiki. The film was Phalke's second feature film after t ...

'' (1917). His wife Saraswati Phalke was the woman behind the scene who was the manager and technical assistant to her husband in film making. Phalke was inspired into film making after he watched the movie "Life of Christ" in 1910. This led him to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for training in

filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The t ...

under

Cecil Hepworth Cecil Milton Hepworth (19 March 1874 – 9 February 1953) was a British film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s at his Hepworth Studios. In ...

Walton Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England. In creating the mythological themes for his films, Phalke was influenced by

Raja Ravi Varma Raja Ravi Varma ( ml, രാജാ രവിവർമ്മ; 29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter and artist. He is considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. His works are one of the best examples ...

, the famous king and painter of mythological themes. He also introduced the screen play format for the film and rehearsed his actors before recording the scenes. Departing from " declamatory" style of

Sanskrit drama The term Indian classical drama refers to the tradition of dramatic literature and performance in ancient India. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Rigveda (1200-1500 BCE), which contains a number of hymns in ...

(where mythological themes were prevalent), Phalke used ''nataka'' (folk theater) dividing the screenplay into acts. Most of ''Mohini Bhasmasur'' was shot in the open countryside. The scene where Bhasmasur keeps his hand on his head and reduces to ashes, Phalke shot with the actor and then retracted the film and shot some spoilt film being burnt in the actor's position, giving the effect of Bhasmasur burning. Phalke's first three films were created in eight months together without a film studio, by hand-driven machines and using a crew who had no prior film experience. All three films were highly successful and Phalke was able to pay off his debts, which he had acquired to make the films. They were shown by Phalke in London, in 1914.

First dance number

Kamala who was a stage actress performed the first dance number in the role of a heroine in

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

. In the dance item, she played the role of Mohini enticing Bhasmasura, the demon or

, with her seductive dancing to bring about his death. Phalke was the

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

of the dance item and he had been inspired by Hindu temple sculptures, Buddhist murals in the

Ajanta Caves The Ajanta Caves are approximately thirty rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures des ...

devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

(temple-dancer) tradition and dancing (see

Lavani Lavani () is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavan ...

) from the

Tamasha Tamasha ( mr, तमाशा) is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ...

folk form.

References

External links

* {{Dadasaheb Phalke Indian silent films 1913 films Hindu mythological films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by Dadasaheb Phalke Films based on the Bhagavata Purana