Early career of Baburao
After Anandrao's death in 1915, Baburao and his group got out of Maharashtra cinema. Reduced to being idle again they again took to painting set curtains for plays. But whereas Anandrao had been a spendthrift with luxurious tastes in food incurring huge debts, Baburao was simple in such matters. They had to go hungry many times. Fortunately in 1916, his group got an assignment with the Gandharva company and went to Bombay for it. During this stay at Bombay they got to see many films. By 1917, with little money from this assignment, Baburao was again charged with the idea of making his own films. With little success in making his camera, by 1917 November, Baburao announced his plan of opening a film company on the terrace of Shripat Kakde. The next morning on 1st December, keeping Anandrao's photo on the stage of Palace theatre, Baburao announced the Maharashtra Film compay open in the company of Shripat Kakde, DAmle, Fattelal, Pant Dharmadhikari, Baba Gajbar, Dnanba Mestry, and 4 or 5 other people.
Baburao Pendharkar, the first administrator of Mahashtra film company has mentioned that it started in 1919. Keshavrao Dhaibar, who had acted in Maharshtra and later worked as cameraman has mention the date of Mahashtra film company as 1sr december 1918. But by the 1918, after several trials with his small Williamson camera, Baburao wanted to film the Indian National Congress meet in Bombay. But he did not have the capital to do so. Vinayrao Ghorpade mentioned his problem to his niece, the singer Tanibai Kagalkar, a disciple of Ustad Alladiya Khan, who helped baburao with the capital needed for his filming. Tanibai Kagalkar later also helped him with Rs 10,000 to start the Maharashtra film company, which he started in Palace theatre. But it later shifted to Shivaji theatres.
The preparations began for Sairandhri. baburao did not possess the knowledge of filmmaking that dadasaheb Phalke had. He ordered the raw stock and camera lens from London, but everything else from shooting to editing had to be figured out by Baburao himself. In 1919 Sairandhri was ready. It was shown in Pune's Aryan cinema on Saturday, February 7 1920. .When Lokmanya Tilak saw the film, he called baburao, Cinema Kesari.
Sairandhri had the title: Parseva Aadmi Ko Kitna Laachaar bana Deti Hai" On seeing this title, people clapped and baburao was sure of the success of the film. When the audience saw Bhim pulling out the head of Keechak, some of the audience shrieked. Tilak even encouraged Baburao by telling him to make a film on jalianwala Baug, saying that it had the capacity to reach those masses which even his articles could not reach. Tilak had perhaps for the first time articulated the awareness element of film.
Anusuyabai, one of the actresses in the film remembers: There was a show reel shown before the film called Good Night show reel. (10 feet in length) It would be shown aftre the film. In that, a woman called Gajrabai had first acted. She was the first woman to come on the Indian screen. After her, me and Gulabbai. I became the first educated woman on Indian screen.
also look up Anandrao Painter
