Lanka Dahan (1917)
- Original title
- लङ्का दहन
- Directed by
- Dadasaheb Phalke
- Genre
- silent film
- Country
- British Raj
- Runtime
- 6 min
- Rating
- 7.2 of 10 from 3 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This is a silent film adaptation of an episode from the Ramayana. It shows the burning of Lanka as told in the Hindu epic. The film is notable for featuring an actor playing both Rama and Sita.
silentmythologicalearly cinemasimpletheatricalhistoricstylized
What happens
Lanka Dahan (English: Lanka Aflame) is a 1917 Indian silent film directed by Dadasaheb Phalke. Phalke also wrote the film based on an episode of the Hindu epic Ramayana, credited to Valmiki. The film was Phalke's second feature film after the 1913 Raja Harishchandra, which was the first Indian full-length feature film. Phalke also directed various short films in between. Anna Salunke, who had previously played the role of Rani Taramati in Phalke's Raja Harishchandra played two roles in this film. As women were prohibited from taking part in commercial performing arts, men also played the female characters. Salunke played the male character of Rama as well as the female character of his wife Sita. He is thus credited with playing the first double role in Indian cinema. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra (1917)
Seeta (1934)
Ramayanam (1932)
Chandrasena (1931)
Shri Krishna Janma (1918)
Ram Rajya (1943)
Ramayani (1945)
Sairandhri (1920)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.