The producers announced on Thursday that Bollywood star Aamir Khan and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani will once more work together on a biopic on the Father of Indian Cinema, Dadasaheb Phalke. Following “3 Idiots” (2009) and “PK” (2014), this feature film will be the third collaboration between Khan and Hirani. A press announcement states that the actor will begin training for the part following the release of his most recent film, “Sitaare Zameen Par,” and that filming on the as-yet-untitled project would start in October.
In Indian film, Dadasaheb Phalke—real name Dhundiraj Govind Phalke—was a pioneer. India’s first motion picture is considered to be his “Raja Harishchandra” (1913). His other well-known films are Kaliya Mardan, Lanka Dahan, and Sri Krishna Janma. In honor of Phalke, the Indian government established the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, which is the greatest accolade in Indian cinema. In recognition of lifetime contributions to Indian cinema, the award is given out every year at the National Film Awards.
“Set against the backdrop of independence struggle, the story unfolds an extraordinary journey of an artist, who from scratch, against all odds, goes on to give birth to the largest indigenous film industry in the world,” said the press statement. The film’s script has been in development for the past four years by Hirani, his regular partner Abhijat Joshi, and writers Hindukush Bharadwaj and Avishkar Bharadwaj, according to the statement.
