Dadasaheb Phalke biopic: Grandson reveals Aamir Khan cried over moments

Heightened interest always surrounds an Aamir Khan project. His next, a biopic on Dadasaheb Phalke, is no exception. Recently, rumours suggested that the Rajkumar Hirani-directed venture has been delayed as the superstar wants the script to be reworked. When mid-day reached out to Phalke’s grandson Chandrashekhar Srikrishna Pusalkar, he rubbished the chatter, saying, “It’s false news that the film is delayed. I checked with Hindukush and Avishkar [Bharadwaj, writers], and they denied it. Everything is going as scheduled. Nothing is being rewritten. The final draft is being prepared.”

Vidya Balan, Rajkumar Hirani and Chandrashekhar Pusalkar

Set against India’s independence struggle, the biopic will reportedly chronicle how Phalke made his maiden feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1931), thus sealing his place in history as the Father of Indian cinema. Pusalkar shared that the movie, as planned, will go on floors at Film City in Goregaon. “The shooting will begin from January next year. Film City was officially named Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari, and it seems fitting for the team to shoot there,” he said. 

Dadasaheb Phalke. Pics/AFP, X, Instagram, Youtube

Khan is known to be deeply invested in his films. Considering he is attempting a biopic after many years, the actor and producer is all the more involved in its scripting. Revealing that the actor has been moved by Phalke’s journey, Pusalkar added, “Aamir has been involved in the writing, and is giving his inputs. While reading the script, he holds a kerchief in one hand. He cried over some special moments in my grandfather’s life. He gets emotional about what my grandfather went through. I’m waiting for Hindukush to introduce me to Aamir and Rajkumarji once the script is finalised.”    

While he is happy that Phalke’s life story will be known to a wide audience through the upcoming film, Pusalkar has a complaint. It saddens him that the Phalke family has been invited only once for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award that is presented by the government of India at the annual National Film Awards. “In the 55 years since it has been instituted, we have not been invited by the government to attend the function, except on one occasion. Even the one time we were invited, we sat in the audience like guests. The family should have a say in this award. Many NGOs too are misusing my grandfather’s name.”