The godfather on stage

I conic and revolutionary filmmakers live on for generations after their passing through their body of work and often, perhaps through biographies and films based on their lives. It is, however, unusual, to explore a great and yet forgotten life like the one of Dadasaheb Phalke, the man we all know as the father of Indian cinema, through the medium of a play. Thespian Aamir Raza Husain is doing just that. Husain and his wife Virat will stage

The Forgotten Film, based on Phalke’s great- grand niece Sharayu Phalke Summanwar’s book The Silent Film as part of the Centenary Film Festival.

“It was Sharayu who approached me to adapt her book into a play,” Husain said. “At that time she had conceptualised it as series of love letters between Phalke and his wife Saraswati. I was not keen on the concept because it had already been done before.”

A staunch believer in originality, Husain said it “was a collective effort” between him and Summanwar. Husain has taken artistic licence while expanding simple narratives in the book into scenes with original dialogue in the play. “I have taken Phalke’s belief that films should never preach and developed it into a dialogue where he says the medium is primarily for entertainment; if there’s a message in a film, that’s a bonus. It’s like adding honey to milk,” he explained.

The humour in the play is unmistakeable. It even takes digs at some film personalities and how politicians are eager to be connected with films.