Ramchandra Gopal or Dadasaheb Torney
A young man of 22 made a feature film in 1912 and had it released on the 18th of May, 1912, at the Coronation Cinema
Pundalik was the name of the film.
Pundalik is who brought Vithal to Pandharpur
there was a day in the future when the shabby race over coming first, (that was the crucial way of being remembered) was more forgotten, other firsts had long replaced the film first.. and Dhundiraj Phalke s Tukaram and Ramachandra Gopal s Pundalik were part of a busy afternoon screening programme at the Film Appreciation in Pune. The smell of the rain has seeped into air and seedpodsare everywhere on the roads around NFAI. Satish Bahadur is lifting the rims his white pajama cylinders. Mr. Nair in blacks and grey s with the color of a man in his prime at this sideburns,is all ready waiting by the main screening room gate. Students are moving in, talking, opining, not sure of what they think or feel, the corners of their young eyes tinged with a brush dipped romance. The older ones are easier as the weather toss is an old acquaintance, they recognize her and find themselves sometimes shaking their heads is despair as she shakes them about they are quieter this afternoon. The young .talk a lot so much talk trying to not talk of feeling like leaves carried along. Ramachandra Gopal watching Satish Bahadur walk with those lifted pajamas gets a small smile and sees his mind is letting go for some time this afternoon, the decades of unfairness.. even if in ghost land, well, so be it, these are still, lovers of the medium. he concentrates of the approaching man to not think further, at the now soaked ends of the pajama legs. he concentrates on what he hopes for.. yes he is hoping some locals will brave the rains and join the audience of mostly film students.he hopes he will not be asked to make a preliminary speech to drive home the points that so much be forgiven, he thinks he might refuse, he thinks he will go and say things as he felt them. he wonders if Phalke might come, he is gone a bit senile. . He did not want to make the preliminary speech setting things in order or talking of those who had put them in order. He looked around for Phalke, he might not come at all. he is gone senile, is old ailing says mad things: maybe he should feel sorry for him and forgive him. The rain is coming down in sheets of mist now, it is difficult to see, everyone is in, Ramachandra turns away and stops as he sees a silhouette of a large balding head in the pouring rain, an old man in a limp dhoti, a face made of furrows. Ramachandra's breath catches at a strings that open wider the lids of his eyes
