New Delhi, May 15 – Bollywood icon Aamir Khan and acclaimed filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani are teaming up once again, this time to bring the story of Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian Cinema, to the big screen.
The upcoming biopic, which remains untitled for now, marks the third cinematic collaboration between Khan and Hirani after their previous hits 3 Idiots (2009) and PK (2014). Production is scheduled to begin in October, and Khan is expected to start preparing for the role following the release of his latest film Sitaare Zameen Par.
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke, laid the foundation of Indian filmmaking with his groundbreaking 1913 silent film Raja Harishchandra, widely regarded as the country’s first feature film. His legacy includes classics such as Lanka Dahan, Shri Krishna Janma, and Kaliya Mardan.
In tribute to his monumental contributions, the Government of India instituted the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, the highest honor in Indian cinema, awarded annually for lifetime achievement.
According to the official release, the biopic is set during the Indian independence movement and traces the inspiring journey of Phalke as he builds, from scratch and against all odds, what would become the world’s largest indigenous film industry.
The screenplay has been in the works for over four years and is co-written by Hirani, his long-time writing partner Abhijat Joshi, and writers Hindukush Bharadwaj and Avishkar Bharadwaj.
The filmmakers have also received significant support from Phalke’s grandson, Chandrashekhar Srikrishna Pusalkar, who contributed key anecdotes from the legendary filmmaker's life.
To ensure historical authenticity, Los Angeles-based VFX studios have developed AI-driven visuals to recreate the era in which Phalke lived and worked.
This highly anticipated biopic promises to be both a cinematic tribute and an educational journey through the origins of Indian cinema.