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Ayodhyecha Raja

Ayodhyecha Raja

Ayodhyecha Raja, literally "The King of Ayodhya", was the first Marathi talkie, released in 1932, directed by Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre. It is based on the puranic story of Raja Harishchandra of Ayodhya and his test by sage Vishwamitra, as recounted in Valmiki's epic, Ramayana.

The film was also made as a double-version, Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932) in Hindi, making it the first double version talkie of Indian cinema, wherein Munshi Ismail Farogh wrote the Hindi dialogue, while screenwriter N.V. Kulkarni also did Marathi dialogue. India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913), was also made on the same storyline.