Bhishma Pratigna (1921 film)

Bhishma Pratigna (transl. The Oath of Bhishma) is a 1921 Indian silent film directed by Raghupathi Surya Prakash (R. S. Prakash).[1] Prakash also produced the film along with his father Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu through Star of the East production company. The film stars Surya Prakash as Bhishma and Peggy Castello as Ganga.[2] It is generally considered to be the first Telugu feature film.[3][4][5][6] Some film historians also consider it to be the first feature film produced in South India.[4][5][7] The film was released all over India, Burma and Sri Lanka and was a big success.[8] The film was made on a budget of ₹12,000 (worth ₹2.2 crore in 2021 prices) and made ₹60,000 in returns.[9]

Bhishma Pratigna
భీష్మ ప్రతిజ్ఞ
Directed byRaghupathi Surya Prakash
Produced byRaghupathi Surya Prakash
Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu
StarringRagupathi Surya Prakash
Peggy Castello
Production
company
Star of the East
Release date
1921
CountryIndia
LanguageSilent
Budget₹12,000
Box office₹60,000

Cast

Production

Bhishma Pratigna made in 1921 is a silent film. It is the first film made by a Telugu producer. It is generally considered to be the first Telugu feature film.[10][6]

Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu sent his son R. S. Prakash abroad to learn filmmaking. Prakash went to London and joined Barker Motion Photography in Ealing in 1918, then went to Paris (Pathé), Germany (where he saw F. W. Murnau at work) and to Hollywood.[11][12][13] After Prakash's return, he founded 'Star of the East', the first Telugu-owned film production company.[13] In 1921, the father-son duo produced a silent film titled Bhishma Pratigna. Prakash not only directed the film, but also played the title role of Bhishma. An English woman named 'de Costello' played the role of Ganga.[2]

Later, the father and son duo made some more films like Matsyavatar, Nandanar (1923), Gajendra Moksham (1923). C. Pullayya and Y. V. Rao, who became noted filmmakers started their career as Prakash's followers.[13]

References
  1. "Bhishma (1936)". The Hindu. 1 February 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 March 2023. The first silent version was produced and directed in 1921 by the now forgotten Indian film pioneer R. Prakash (then known as R. Suryaprakash or R.S. Prakash).
  2. Garga, Bhagwan Das (1996). So Many Cinemas: The Motion Picture in India. Eminence Designs. p. 51. ISBN 978-81-900602-1-9.
  3. Thoraval, Yves (2000). The Cinemas of India. Macmillan India. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-333-93410-4.
  4. Hindi Cinema Year Book. Screen World Publication. 2002. p. 21.
  5. Asian Film Directory and Who's who. 1952. p. 33.
  6. Rao, Akkina Mareswara (1997). "Celluloid and its past: Cultural and ideological mediation of Telugu cinema in colonial Andhra's Past" (PDF). University of Hyderabad. p. 93. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  7. Hindustan Year-book and Who's who. M. C. Sarkar. 1989.
  8. Chabria, Suresh; Usai, Paolo Cherchi (1994). Light of Asia: Indian Silent Cinema, 1912-1934. Wiley Eastern. p. 15. ISBN 978-81-224-0680-1.
  9. Baskaran, Sundararaj Theodore (1981). The Message Bearers: The Nationalist Politics and the Entertainment Media in South India, 1880-1945. Cre-A.
  10. Thoraval, Yves (2000). The Cinemas of India. Macmillan India. ISBN 978-0-333-93410-4.
  11. Thoraval, Yves (2000). The Cinemas of India. Macmillan India. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-333-93410-4. Raghupathi Surya Prakash (or Prakasa) was sent to study the cinema industries of London, Paris (Pathe), Germany, and Hollywood. He started the 'Star of the East Film Company' and went on to direct films in Telugu and Tamil.
  12. Jayasiṃha (2015). Indian Cinema Through the Century. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 104. ISBN 978-81-230-1991-8. Raghupathi Venkaiah had sent his son Raghupathi Surya Prakash Rao to learn about filmmaking in England. He was attached to Barker Studio in London. He made many silent movies on return from there.
  13. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1994). Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute. pp. 1994–1995. ISBN 978-0-85170-455-5.
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