''Harishchandrachi Factory'' (; ) is a 2009 Indian Marathi-language

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

film written and directed by

Paresh Mokashi Paresh Mokashi (born 6 February 1969) is an Indian filmmaker, producer, actor and Theatre director-producer; working predominantly in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre. He started working as a backstage worker for theatre and did few minor r ...

. It is about

Dadasaheb 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 ...

, who made the first Indian feature film ''

Raja Harishchandra ''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, Bhal ...

'' (1913), and starring

Nandu Madhav Nandu Madhav is an Indian actor known for his works in Marathi cinema and theatre. He is known for the his titular role in Paresh Mokashi's ''Harishchandrachi Factory'' which won the Best Feature Film in Marathi award in the 56th National Fi ...

as him and

Vibhavari Deshpande Vibhawari Deshpande is an Indian actress, writer and director who works in Marathi theatre and Marathi cinema. Career Writer and director Deshpande started her career with acting and off-screen works in college drama. She also attended variou ...

as his wife Saraswati. ''Harishchandrachi Factory'' focuses on the struggle Phalke faced during its production. The film is the directorial debut of Paresh Mokashi who won the Best Director award at

Pune International Film Festival The Pune International Film Festival (also known as PIFF) is an annual film festival held in Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India. Open to general public, the films are screened at NFAI, Inox, City Pride, PVR cinema halls, all located in Pune ...

, where the film was shown. In September 2009, it was selected as India's official entry to

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

in the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

Category, making it the second film, after ''

Shwaas ''Shwas'' (Marathi: श्वास, ''The Breath'') is a Marathi film, released in 2004. It was India's official entry to the 2004 Oscars and was ranked 6th in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category. Its storyline is based ...

'' (2004), in

Marathi cinema Marathi cinema is an Indian film industry of Marathi-language motion pictures. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based in old Mumbai, it is the oldest film industry of Indian cinema. The first Marathi film to be released in India was ...

to receive this honour.

Overview

The film depicts the making of India's first full-length feature film by

Cast

as Saraswati Phalke * Sandeep Pathak as Trymbak B. Telang *

Bhalchandra Kadam Bhalchandra Kadam (born 3 March 1970), popularly known as Bhau Kadam, is a Marathi theatre and film actor. He is known as a comedian, particularly when working in commercial Marathi cinema and drama. He began his acting career in 1991, when he ...

as Deaf and dumb actor *

Satish Alekar Satish Vasant Alekar (born 30 January 1949) is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director. A founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune, and most known for his plays ''Mahanirvan'' (1974), ''Mahapoor'' (1975), ''Atirekee'' (1990), ''Pi ...

as Lawyer (Special Appearance) * Jitendra Joshi as Parsi in theatre in beginning of movie (Special Appearance) *

Hrishikesh Joshi Hrishikesh Joshi, born in Kolhapur, is a Marathi actor. He has acted in numerous Hindi, Marathi Movies, tele-serials and theater and has won applauds from many noted professionals. He has acted in award-winning films like Harishchandrachi Fact ...

as School Teacher in beginning of Movie (Special Appearance) *

Pravin Tarde Pravin Vittal Tarde is an Indian film director, actor, producer, and scriptwriter working in the Marathi Cinema best known for his Marathi film '' Deool Band'', ''Mulshi Pattern ''Mulshi Pattern'' is a 2018 Indian Marathi-language action cr ...

as Carpenter

Critical reception

The film was officially released in India on 29 January 2010 and received critical appreciation.

Awards and honours

References

;Awards

External links

* *
Harishchandrachi Factory, Film Review in The Hollywood Reporter

Harishchandrachi Factory, Film Review

{{UTV Movies 2009 films 2009 comedy films Indian biographical films Films about filmmaking Films set in the 1910s Indian comedy films UTV Motion Pictures films Best Marathi Feature Film National Film Award winners 2000s biographical films 2009 directorial debut films 2000s Marathi-language films Films directed by Paresh Mokashi Films scored by Anand Modak