Bruce06828 at 05:43, 6 February 2026

2026-02-06T05:43:09Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian film actor}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Anna Salunke
| image = Anna Salunke.jpg
| caption = Salunke as [[Sita]] in ''[[Lanka Dahan]]''
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Circa|1897}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1944
| death_place =
| occupation = [[Actor]], [[cinematographer]]
| yearsactive=
| othername =
| spouse =
| children =
| website =
}}

'''Anna Hari Salunke''' ({{Circa|1897}}-1944), also known as '''A. Salunke''' and '''Annasaheb Saluke''', was an Indian actor who performed female roles in very early Indian cinema and also a cinematographer.<ref name="Schulze2003"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cinema Citizens |url=https://www.indianmemoryproject.com/cinema-citizens/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=INDIAN MEMORY PROJECT |language=en-US}}</ref> He is the first person to perform as a heroine in Indian cinema, playing the role of Queen [[Shaivya (queen)|Taramati]] in [[Dada Saheb Phalke]]'s first full-length film, ''[[Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913). In 1917, Salunke became the first to play a double role in Indian cinema, by playing the roles of both the hero and heroine in ''[[Lanka Dahan]]''.

==Career==
[[File:Raja Harishchandra scene—Taramati and Harishchandra.jpg|thumb|A scene from ''[[Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913) depicting Anna Salunke as [[Taramati]] and [[Dattatraya Damodar Dabke]] as Harishchandra]]
Salunke portrayed the heroine in ''[[Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913), the first full-length Indian feature film. He played the role of Queen Taramati, the consort of king [[Harishchandra]], whose tale is told in [[Hindu mythology]]. Salunke worked as a cook<ref name="Bose2006">{{cite book|author=Mihir Bose|title=Bollywood: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6LAaAQAAIAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Tempus Pub.|isbn=978-0-7524-2835-2|pages = 50, 52}}</ref> or waiter<ref name="Dwyer2006">{{cite book|author=Rachel Dwyer|title=Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8qjKJ0yk-gQC&pg=PA23|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-08865-4|pages=23}}</ref> in a restaurant on [[Grant Road (South Mumbai, India)|Grant Road]], [[Mumbai]],<ref name="Schulze2003">{{cite book|author=Brigitte Schulze|title=Humanist and Emotional Beginnings of a Nationalist Indian Cinema in Bombay: With Kracauer in the Footsteps of Phalke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DytnAAAAMAAJ|year=2003|publisher=Avinus|isbn=978-3-930064-12-0}}</ref> frequented by [[Dhundiraj Govind Phalke]] (Dadasaheb Phalke), the director and producer of the film. Phalke could not find a woman who agreed to act in the film; even prostitutes and [[Nautch|dancing girls]] refused. Phalke saw Salunke, who had an effeminate figure and slender hands, and convinced him to play a female role. While Salunke was working for a monthly salary of 10 [[rupees]], Phalke offered him 15 and Salunke agreed.<ref name="Bose2006"/><ref name="Maitra1995">{{cite book|author=Prabodh Maitra|title=100 years of cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwdlAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Nandan|pages=159}}</ref>

Salunke also acted in Phalke's ''[[Lanka Dahan]]'' (1917), played in the Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]''. Salunke played the first double role in Indian cinema,<ref name="Sabharwal2000">{{cite book|author=Gopa Sabharwal|title=The Indian millennium, AD 1000-2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sghuAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-029521-4|pages=453}}</ref><ref name="Majumdar2009"/> by playing both the male role of the hero [[Rama]] and the female role of his wife [[Sita]], the heroine.<ref name="Majumdar2009">{{cite book|author=Neepa Majumdar|title=Wanted Cultured Ladies Only!: Female Stardom and Cinema in India, 1930s–1950s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdM2Ben3alIC&pg=PA224|year=2009|publisher=University of Illinois Press|isbn=978-0-252-09178-0|pages=224}}</ref> However, Salunke had developed a more muscular physique by then, and the audience could see his biceps even as he played the goddess Sita.<ref name="Bose2006"/><ref name="Garga1996">{{cite book|author=Bhagwan Das Garga|title=So many cinemas: the motion picture in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wXRZAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Eminence Designs|isbn=978-81-900602-1-9|pages=21}}</ref>

Salunke also acted in ''Satyanarayan'' (1922) directed by V.S. Nirantar and Phalke's ''Buddha Dev'' (1923). He was also the cinematographer on both films. Later, Salunke abandoned his acting career and fully concentrated on cinematography. Besides Nirantar and Phalke, he worked with [[G. V. Sane]] (who acted with Salunke in ''Raja Harishchandra'') and [[Ganpat G. Shinde]] (co-starred with Salunke in ''Lanka Dahan'') as directors. The last of his films as cinematographer were in 1931.<ref name="CITWF">[http://www.citwf.com/detailPerson.asp?personID=370848&sortOn=YEAR&sortBy=UP CITWF] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305015214/http://www.citwf.com/detailPerson.asp?personID=370848&sortOn=YEAR&sortBy=UP |date=5 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Films==
Salunke, during his film career spanning 18 years from 1913 to 1931, acted in various films including five in the female role, most of them were on [[Hindu mythology|Hindu mythological]] themes. He was also a cinematographer in a few films.<ref name=Salunke>{{Cite web|url=http://entertainmentbureau.in/actress/anna-salunke|title=Anna Salunke|accessdate=7 March 2013|publisher=Entertainment Bureau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127063658/http://entertainmentbureau.in/actress/anna-salunke|archive-date=27 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Selected filmography===
;In female roles
* ''[[Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913)
* ''[[Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1917) as Taramati
* ''[[Lanka Dahan]]'' (1922) in a double role as Rama and Sita
* ''Satyanarayan'' (1922)
* ''Buddha Dev'' (1923), his last movie as an actress

;In several roles
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* ''Ahiravan Mahiravan Vadh'' (1922)
* ''Haritalika'' (1922)
* ''Pandav Vanavas'' (1922)
* ''Satyanarayan'' (1922)
* ''Shishupala Vadh'' (1922)
* ''Wandering Soul'' (1923)
* ''Buddha Dev'' (1923)
* ''Gora Kumbhar'' (1923)
* ''Guru Dronacharya'' (1923)
* ''Jarasandha Vadha'' (1923)
* ''Kanya Vikraya'' (1923)
* ''Jayadratha Vadh'' (1924)
* ''Kanya Vikraya'' (1924)
* ''Ram Ravan Yuddha'' (1924)
* ''Shivajichi Agryahun Sutaka'' (1924)
* ''Sundopasund'' (1924)
* ''Anant Vrat'' (1925)
* ''Kakashebanchya Dolyat Jhanjhanit Anjan'' (1925)
* ''Satyabhama'' (1925)
* ''Simantak Mani'' (1925)
* ''Datta Janma'' (1925)
* ''Bhakta Pralhad'' (1926)
* ''Bhim Sanjeevan'' (1926)
* ''Keechaka Vadh'' (1926)
* ''Sant Eknath'' (1926)
* ''Bhakta Sudama'' (1927)
* ''Draupadi Vastraharan'' (1927)
* ''Hanuman Janma'' (1927)
* ''Madalasa'' (1927)
* ''Vasantsena'' (1929)
* ''Khuda Parasta'' (1930)
* ''Amir Khan'' (1931)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Anna Salunke}}
* {{IMDb name|0759190}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salunke, Anna}}
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:Cinematographers from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Indian male silent film actors]]
[[Category:Hindi film cinematographers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian photographers]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]

Anna Salunke - Revision history

Bruce06828 at 05:43, 6 February 2026