Family, fans create lifelike statue of Dadasaheb Phalke

MUMBAI: It is ironical that a nation of 1.25 billion, which acknowledges its debt to filmmaker Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, scarcely knows what he looked like. The thespian’s descendants and fans have made an attempt to correct this anomaly by creating a lifelike statue of Phalke, with European white skin and green grey eyes, ahead of his 150th birth anniversary.
Dhundiraj Govind Bhat or Dadasaheb Phalke was born on April 30, 1870. His sesquicentennial celebrations are set to begin later this month.
Third-generation sculptor Vinay Wagh, whose studio is along Chowpatty seafront, has crafted a 4ft torso of Phalke from marine ultraviolet material. He said, “The idol has a close resemblance to the waxworks installed at Madame Tussaud’s museum but it is more sturdy and resistant to heat, water and corrosion. Alongside, we have placed models of his wife Saraswati, his Williamsons camera, projector, gramophone, the film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ and Haud bungalow in Nashik, which was his studio.” Wagh, who also manages the Dadasaheb Phalke International Awareness Mission, said the statue will be used for functions in his sesquicentennial year.
“Two idols of Phalke are visible in Mumbai, one near Hindmata, which was unveiled during his birth centenary in 1970 by Prithviraj Kapoor, and the other in FilmCity, Goregaon, that was placed in 2003,” said Phalke’s grandson Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, who bears a striking resemblance to his ancestor and modelled for Wagh. “My mother Vrunda, who was his younger daughter, would remark at his white skin tone and green grey eyes. When I asked her if my grandfather was fair, she would reply ‘fair like a European’. So I suggested that Wagh bring an element of redness in the cheeks.” These traits of appearance are characteristic of his native Chitpavan Brahmin community.
Phalke passed away in Nashik in February 16, 1944.
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