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

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)

Trailer

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• Ramayani (1945)
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