Raja Harishchandra - Production

Production

Phalke was greatly influenced by the style of painter Raja Ravi Verma in the making of his films. Just as Verma brought Hindu mythology on canvas, Phalke brought it in motion picture. He would make many films based on mythological stories from Ramayana, Mahabharata and others.

The film had an all-male cast as no woman was available for playing female leads. Phalke struggled to get woman, including nautch girls, to agree to act in film. He hence had to cast a delicate-looking man to play the role of Queen Taramati, Harishchandra's wife. Phalke discovered Salunke, who used to work in a restaurant as a cook, for this role. Salunke would later play the role of both Rama and Sita in Phalke's 1917 film Lanka Dahan and become the most popular actor and actress of his time. Dadasaheb's wife cooked food alone, without any help, for the whole cast and crew, which were more than 500 people. She also washed the clothes and costumes, helped in the posters and production of the film, and co-operated with the cast, satisfying them with food and water.

The film reel was 3700 feet long and roughly 40 minutes.

In 2008, Harishchandrachi Factory, a film based on the making of Raja Harishchandra was announced. The title is based on the fact that, when the film was made, working in films was taboo, so Dada Saheb advised his artists to tell others that they were working in the factory of one 'Harishchandra'.