Hiralal Sen (Bengali: হীরালাল সেন, Hiralal Shen)
(2 August 1866 â€" 26 October 1917) is generally considered as one of
India's first filmmakers. A noted photographer, he is also credited
with creating India's first advertising films and quite possibly
India's first political film. A fire in 1917 destroyed all of his
films.Hiralal Sen's native home was in Bagjuri, a village in
Manikganj, approximately 80 km from Dhaka, the present-day capital of
Bangladesh. Although he was the son of a successful lawyer of a Baidya
zamindar family of that region, he grew up in Calcutta. In 1898, a
film troupe en route to Paris screened a certain Professor Stevenson's
short film along with the stage show, The Flower of Persia at the Star
Theatre in Calcutta. Borrowing Stevenson's camera, Sen made his first
film, "A Dancing Scene" from the opera The Flower of Persia. With
assistance from his brother, Motilal Sen, he bought an Urban Bioscope
from Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company in London. In the
following year, with his brother, he formed the Royal Bioscope
company.In a creative career that extended up to 1913, Hiralal Sen
made over forty short films. Most of the films he made depicted scenes
from theatrical productions played at Amarendra Dutta's Classic
Theatre in Calcutta. At that time raw film was imported into the
country. Between 1901 and 1904, he produced many films for Classic
Theatre including Bhramar, Hariraj, and Buddhadev. His longest film,
produced in 1903 and titled Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, was also
based on an original Classic Theatre performance. However, not much is
known about this feature film since it was never screened. He also
produced a number of advertising films and newsfilms taking
commissions. Having made two films advertising Jabakusum Hair Oil and
Edwards Tonic, he became the first Indian to use film for advertising
purposes.
(2 August 1866 â€" 26 October 1917) is generally considered as one of
India's first filmmakers. A noted photographer, he is also credited
with creating India's first advertising films and quite possibly
India's first political film. A fire in 1917 destroyed all of his
films.Hiralal Sen's native home was in Bagjuri, a village in
Manikganj, approximately 80 km from Dhaka, the present-day capital of
Bangladesh. Although he was the son of a successful lawyer of a Baidya
zamindar family of that region, he grew up in Calcutta. In 1898, a
film troupe en route to Paris screened a certain Professor Stevenson's
short film along with the stage show, The Flower of Persia at the Star
Theatre in Calcutta. Borrowing Stevenson's camera, Sen made his first
film, "A Dancing Scene" from the opera The Flower of Persia. With
assistance from his brother, Motilal Sen, he bought an Urban Bioscope
from Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company in London. In the
following year, with his brother, he formed the Royal Bioscope
company.In a creative career that extended up to 1913, Hiralal Sen
made over forty short films. Most of the films he made depicted scenes
from theatrical productions played at Amarendra Dutta's Classic
Theatre in Calcutta. At that time raw film was imported into the
country. Between 1901 and 1904, he produced many films for Classic
Theatre including Bhramar, Hariraj, and Buddhadev. His longest film,
produced in 1903 and titled Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, was also
based on an original Classic Theatre performance. However, not much is
known about this feature film since it was never screened. He also
produced a number of advertising films and newsfilms taking
commissions. Having made two films advertising Jabakusum Hair Oil and
Edwards Tonic, he became the first Indian to use film for advertising
purposes.
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