‘Aamir Khan will do justice to my grandfather’s role’

While Dadasaheb Phalke’s contributions to Indian cinema are revered today, the communicative of however helium made India’s archetypal diagnostic film, Raja Harishchandra (1913), astir went untold connected the large screen.

According to his grandson Chandrashekhar Srikrishna Pusalkar, contempt years of probe by writers Hindukush Bharadwaj and his lad Avishkar, the task initially struggled to find backers.“They had approached galore producers earlier, but cipher was consenting to instrumentality it on. The producers felt the communicative didn’t person the masala of a mainstream entertainer,” Pusalkar told Mid-day.It was filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani who yet saw worth successful the communicative and felt it was indispensable to honour the antheral often referred to arsenic the ‘Father of Indian cinema’.

“Mr Hirani said it was our work to marque a movie connected the antheral who enactment Indian cinema connected the satellite map, and due to the fact that of him, we person rozi-roti,” Pusalkar shared, adding that the acclaimed manager was wide that this wasn’t astir nett but legacy.Set against the independency era, with Aamir Khan successful the leadThe biopic, which volition beryllium headlined by Aamir Khan, is acceptable against the backdrop of India’s independency question and volition hint however Phalke transitioned from being a funny onlooker to a pioneering filmmaker.

Shooting for the movie is expected to statesman successful January 2026.The publication volition chronicle not conscionable Phalke’s filmmaking travel but besides his puerility successful Trimbak adjacent Nashik and the pivotal infinitesimal erstwhile helium saw The Birth, the Life and the Death of Christ. “He thought, wherefore shouldn’t our culture, gods, and goddesses beryllium shown? That’s however Raja Harishchandra happened,” said Pusalkar.Equally important is the relation of Saraswatibai Phalke, his 2nd wife, successful the story.

“My grandma gave him her jewellery to assistance him spell to London. She would beryllium successful connected the film’s editing and assistance him with reflectors connected outdoor shoots,” helium recalled.Pusalkar expressed his joyousness implicit Aamir Khan taking connected the titular role. “He does everything with dedication and passion, and helium volition play Dadasaheb Phalke with the aforesaid sincerity. I’m definite helium volition bash justness to my grandfather’s role.”

The root of ‘Phalke’—a sanction rooted successful serviceInterestingly, the surname ‘Phalke’ was not the family’s archetypal name. “Our family’s surname is Bhatt,” revealed Pusalkar. “My grandfather’s ancestors utilized to proviso chopped banana leaves to the Peshwa kings for serving food, and that process was called making ‘phalke’ successful Marathi. That led to the name.”While SS Rajamouli and Jr NTR person besides announced a movie connected Phalke, the Aamir-Hirani collaboration has already stirred large buzz arsenic 1 of the astir anticipated biopics successful the making.