Hiralal Sen | |
|---|---|
 Hiralal Sen,c. 1900 | |
| Born | 2 August 1868 |
| Died | 26 October 1917(1917-10-26) (aged 49) Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer, filmmaker |
| Spouse | Hemangini Devi |
| Parents |
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Hiralal Sen (Bengali:হীরালাল সেন,Hiralal Shen; 2 August 1868 – 26 October 1917[1]) is generally considered one ofIndia's firstfilmmakers. In 1903, he filmed the popularAlibaba and Forty Thieves, the first full-length Indian film.[2] A noted photographer, he is also credited with creating India's firstadvertisingfilms and quite possibly India's first political film. A fire in 1917 destroyed all of his films.
Hiralal Sen's native home was inBagjuri, a village inManikganj, approximately 80 km fromDhaka, the present-day capital ofBangladesh.[3] Although he was the son of a successful lawyer of aBaidyazamindar[4] family of that region, he grew up inCalcutta.[3] In 1898, a film troupe en route toParis screened a certain Professor Stevenson's short film along with the stage show,The Flower of Persia at theStar Theatre in Calcutta.[5] Borrowing Stevenson's camera, Sen made his first film, "A Dancing Scene" from the operaThe Flower of Persia.[5] With assistance from his brother, Motilal Sen, he bought anUrban Bioscope fromCharles Urban'sWarwick Trading Company inLondon.[5] In the following year, with his brother, he formed theRoyal Bioscope company.[5]
In 1898, Hiralal was in Kolkata star Theatre, West Bengal (earlier known as Calcutta)and was watching "flower of Persia". That theatre play had interval were some short film was played and that was the moment he had an idea. He borrowed a camera from the plays director and recorded the whole Flower of Persia play. Furthermore, with added funds by his father he got his first cinematograph camera, and started India's first movie enterprise named - "Royal Bioscope film company" in 1898 itself. In a creative career that extended up to 1913, Hiralal Sen made over forty short films.[6] Most of the films he made depicted scenes from theatrical productions played at Amarendra Dutta's Classic Theatre in Calcutta. At that time rawfilm was imported into the country.[5] Between 1901 and 1904, he produced many films for Classic Theatre includingBhramar,Hariraj, andBuddhadev.[5] His longest film, produced in 1903 and titledAlibaba and the Forty Thieves, was also based on an original Classic Theatre performance.[3][5] However, not much is known about thisfeature film since it was never screened.[3] He also produced a number of advertising films and newsfilms taking commissions.[5] Having made two films advertising Jabakusum Hair Oil and Edwards Tonic, he became the first Indian to use film for advertising purposes.[3][7]
In 1905, Sen advertised a "genuine Swadeshi film of our own make". Documenting the "Anti-Partition Demonstration andSwadeshi movement at the Town Hall, Calcutta, on the 22nd September 1905", it is, according to criticSamik Bandyopadhyay, India's first political film.[6]
Royal Bioscope made its last film in 1913.[5]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1903 | Alibaba and the Forty Thieves |
| between 1901 and 1904 | Bhramar |
| between 1901 and 1904 | Hariraj |
| between 1901 and 1904 | Buddhadev |
| 1905 | Anti-Partition Demonstration andSwadeshi movement at the Town Hall, Calcutta, on the 22nd September 1905 |
Hiralal Sen's later years were filled with disappointment and economic hardship.[3]Jamshedji Framji Madan of theElphinstone Bioscope Company had long surpassed him in terms of success.[6] To compound his misery, he was also suffering fromcancer.[citation needed] A few days before his death in 1917, a fire broke out destroying every film he ever made.[3][5]
in 2021, A film named 'Hiralal' has made on his life starring Kinjal Nanda.[8]
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