Shivram Govind Phalke

From PhalkeFactory

After completion of his course at the J.J. School of Art, Dadasaheb’s elder brother Shivrampant Phalke took him to Baroda ( vadodra) at the beginning of 1886 and put him in the famous Kala Bhavan so that he may develop his art further. Dadasaheb made real progress in the various arts necessary for movie making during his stay in Baroda. He had no thought at that time of making movies. Shivrampant worked at Baroda in the office of Rameshchandra Dutt, a Bengali gentleman, and he too was intelligent, analytical, with a literary bent of mind. Due to his association with Rameshchandra, he knew the Bengali language well. He did not only speak Bengali but could also write it. In addition to his Marathi writings he started writing in Bengali too. Shivrampant Phalke first translated the Bengali novel, Durgesh Nandini into Marathi. Later he also translated Subhadra Arjun. Dadasaheb must have returned to writing in Marathi due to his elder brother’s influence.

Excerpted from Bapu Watve’s Dada Saheb Phalke, published by the National Book Trust.