For months, whispers have been floating around Bollywood that Aamir Khan is planning a big-screen tribute to Dadasaheb Phalke, the man hailed as the father of Indian cinema. Now, those rumors finally have some clarity.
In a recent conversation with IANS, Dadasaheb Phalke’s grandson, Chandrashekhar Pusalkar, spoke openly about the reports and what he has heard directly from Aamir’s camp.
“There were stories that the script was being re-edited, but I checked with Aamir Khan’s team, and they confirmed that this news was completely false,” Pusalkar said. “The script is already finalized, and the project will begin soon. Rajkumar Hirani has also shown keen interest. If this film is made, it will not just be cinema. It will be an inspiration, showing people exactly how much my grandfather contributed to Indian cinema.”
If the project takes off, it will bring together two of the biggest names in Bollywood, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani, for a story that shaped the roots of India’s film industry.
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Though Pusalkar never met Phalke, who passed away in 1944, years before his birth, the stories of his mother kept the pioneer’s memory alive in their household.
“As a child, I slowly realized my grandfather was not like others. His name appeared in newspapers, and my mother would proudly point it out to the family,” he shared. “She would say, ‘Look, this is your grandfather. He did great things.’ I never got to see him, but through her words, I felt his presence.”
He remembered how his mother often blended pride with discipline. “Whenever I misbehaved, she would scold me, saying, ‘You should have been in your grandfather’s kingdom.’ Sometimes it made me upset. I would wonder, who is this grandfather because of whom I am being scolded all the time? But later, when I learned about him, I felt grateful for those words.”
Dadasaheb Phalke is a name every film lover in India knows. His 1913 film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ is regarded as the first full-length Indian feature film. This laid the foundation for an industry that is today one of the largest in the world.