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Hiralal Sen
Hiralal Sen
Born in Bagjuri village near Dhaka, Hiralal Sen came to Kolkata to attend college. Here, he won a photography contest in 1887 held by Bourne and Shepherd, then the biggest dealers of still photography in the country. During those days, he was mesmerized by the short films made by an Englishman called Prof. Stevenson. In 1898, Sen filmed the dance sequences of the opera, The Flower of Persia, staged at Star Theatre using Stevenson's equipment. It was also during this time that he met Jesuit priest Eugene Lafont at St Xavier's College. Lafont was a noted scientist and the founder of the first Scientific Society ...
Filmography
- A Scene on the Road (Pather Chhabi) (1900)
- The Ghats of Ganges (Ganga Ghater Chhabi) (1900)
- Regular Scenes on the Road (Pathey Nrityadrishya) (1900)
- Scenes on the Road (Pathey Chhabi) (1900)
- Moving Scenes on the Chitpur Road (Chitpur Road-e Chalaman Drishya) (1900-1901)
- Wedding at Bagjuri Village (Bagjuri Gramer Bibahautsav) (1902 - 1903)
- Refugees at Bagjuri Village (Bagjuri Gramer Swaranarthi) (1902-1903)
- Wedding at Rajendra Mallick's house (Rajendra Mallick Barir Bibahautsav) (1902-1905)
- Wedding at Dulichand Mallick's house (Dulichand Mallick Barir Bibahautsav) (1902-1905)
- Wedding at Shibcharan Laha's house (Shibcharan Laha Barir Bihahautsav) (1902-1905)
- Various Festivals at Rajendra Mallick's house (Rajendra Mallick Barir Bibhinno Utsav) (1902- 1905)
- Various Festivals at Shibcharan Laha's house (Shibcharan Lahar Barir Bibhinna Utsav) (1902-1905)
Did You Know?
In 1905, Hiralal came up with an advertisement saying a "genuine Swadeshi film of our own make" while documenting the Anti-Partition Demonstration and Swadeshi Movement at the Town Hall on September 22, 1905. Perhaps, this was India's first political film. His biopic titled Hiralal, starring Kinjal Nanda as the titular character along with Saswata Chatterjee, Anuska Chakraborty, Shankar Chakraborty, released in 2021.
Photo Gallery
