First Bollywood film : Raja Harishchandra

Every Indian has that one favourite bollywood movie that he or she can watch a 100 times but never get bored of, right?

But, have you ever wondered how the journey of Indian cinema began and what was the first ever bollywood movie?

Let's take a look at a journey that began over a 100 years ago and marked the beginning of a new era.


The first ever full length film in Indian cinema was Raja Harishchandra,  released in the year 1913 by Father of Indian Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke. It was a 40 minute long silent film.


Dadasaheb was not only the producer but also the director, writer, cameraman, editor, makeup artist and the art director of the film. Undoubtedly, a One man army! Moreover, he was so passionate to make this film that he even used his insurance policies and his wife's jewellery to raise money for the film. Dadasaheb faced a lot of difficulties while filming but after a struggle of over 6 months, he finally completed the entire film.


Raja Harishchandra was screened in a single theatre – Coronation Cinematograph. On its first screening, Phalke invited the press and many other people to watch. He promoted the movie with a catchy phrase – “Raja Harishchandra: A performance with 57,000 photographs. A picture two miles long. All for only three annas.”
Needless to say, people came, watched, and went home saying good things about the “57,000 photographs”. A year later, the movie was screened in London as well.

Raja Harishchandra is still remembered with great love and respect among the Indian film fraternity. Along with being a huge success, it also paved the way for Indian cinema. There have been multiple attempts at restoring the original reels, but only the first and last remain.