On this happy day I was made even happier by the discovery of this treasure on youtube!!! We live in lucky times! SO presenting Dadasaheb Phalke's presentation on Krishna's birth from 1918!!!!! Exactly a hundred years back!!One of the early pioneering efforts in Indian filmmaking, 'the film' is not complete but only a very small fragment 10% (less than six mins) of its original hour long length...
And it is a silent film - jumpy-jerky-all over the place to our 'well adjusted to cinema spectacle' eyes... but its a wonder to behold nevertheless.. for me at any rate 
And as a bonus the video is combined with a fragment of another Phalke film - 1927's Bhakta Prahlad!!
Only sticking to Shri Krishna's theme for now -
Witness the harried people beseeching the Gods for help as Lord Vishnu reclined on Sheshnag with Devi Lakshmi and Brahmaji on the lotus emerge from the sea..Lord Vishnu 'shows' the suffering folk his intent.. he will incarnate as Shri Krishna, but transforming into the little child.. (this is a simple and great example of the visual language.. seems obvious but isn't)
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| Dadasheb Phalke's daughter Mandakini Phalke plays little Krishna in this as well the other epic "Kaliya Mardan" 1919 |
Then the fragments again 'show' Kamsa's hallucination.. yes.. this 'akashvani' or the warning from the ether is also shown in a brilliant sequence where Kamsa is overwhelmed by multiple Shri Ks of different ages who he tries to fight off in vain by slashing at air with his sword!
But... before that is on of the great examples of visual effects in films, which stands well against the best being done anywhere in the world at that time ( incl George melies!!) Kamsa hallucinates or sees his head flying off his body in a geyser of blood!! "It is part of film lore that the blood in this trickshot was hand tinted red!" - Light of Asia -Indian silent Film edited by Suresh Chabria- #currentlyreading - #serendipity)
I love this end of film title card... apparently the silent film was accompanied by actual singing of bhajans and aartis at the end of screening for the devout to get the full experience of having witnessed Shri Krishna!
Enjoy and salute the great pioneers on whose shoulders we stand -(or try to )
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