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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Gangavataran
| image =
| alt = 
| caption =
| director = [[Dadasaheb Phalke]]
| producer =
| writer = Dadasaheb Phalke
| based_on = 
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* Chitnis
* Suresh Pardesi
}}
| music = [[Vishwanathbuwa Jadhav]]
| cinematography = Vasudev Karnataki
| editing =
| studio = Kolhapur Movietone
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1937|||df=y}}
| runtime =
| country = [[India]]
| language = {{Flatlist|
* [[Marathi language|Marathi]]
* [[Hindi]]
}}
| budget =
| gross =
}}
'''''Gangavataran''''' ({{lang-en|The Descent of the Ganges}}) is a [[List of Bollywood films of 1937|1937]] Indian film by [[Dadasaheb Phalke]], who is known as the "father of [[Indian cinema]]". It was the first [[sound film]]<ref name="Mazur2011">{{cite book|author=Eric Mazur|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m3oLA1ThOBYC&pg=PA75|access-date=23 February 2012|date=8 March 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-33072-8|pages=75}}</ref> and the last film to be directed by Phalke.<ref name="The India magazine">{{cite book|title=The India magazine of her people and culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6AduAAAAMAAJ&q=gangavataran+1937|access-date=23 February 2012|year=1997|publisher=A. H. Advani|page=13}}</ref> When Phalke directed this film, he was 67 years old. He directed ''Gangavataran'' on behalf of Kolhapur Movietone.<ref name="The India magazine"/>

==Plot==
''Gangavataran'' is based on the tales of the [[Puranas]], a genre of important [[Hindu]], [[Jain]] and [[Buddhist]] religious texts. The film used special effects to show mythological miracles and fantasy scenes, credited to [[Babaraya Phalke]], son of Dadasaheb. ''Gangavataran'' depicted the [[Hindu]] [[deity]] [[Shiva]], and the divine sage from the [[Vaisnava]] tradition, [[Narada]], played by [[Chitnis]] and [[Suresh Pardesi]] respectively.

The film tells the Hindu mythical story of [[Ganges in Hinduism#Descent to earth|river Ganges's descent to Earth]]. For absolution of his ancestor's sins [[Bhagiratha]] vows to bring the heavenly river (Ganga) to the Earth. Pleased with his [[tapasya]], [[Lord Brahma]] agrees on sending Ganga. But He asks Bhagiratha to pursue Lord Shiva, as only Shiva could break Ganga's fall. Proud with her heavenly presence, Ganga agreed to descend only because of Brahma's orders. Her pride made her believe that her fall would only destroy the Earth. But then Shiva trapped her tight in His hair and only let her go when she asked for forgiveness. Her gentle flow after release then absolved Bhagiratha's ancestors.

==Production==
It took two years to complete the production of ''Gangavataran''. The production cost of this film was two and a half lakhs rupees in contemporary currency value (approximately US$65,000 in 2018 dollars). The film was screened on 6 August 1937 at the [[Royal Opera House (Mumbai)|Royal Opera House]] in [[Mumbai]]. ''Gangavataran'' was the first Indian sound film to be screened at the Royal Opera House.<ref name="Vāṭave2004">{{cite book|author=Bāpū Vāṭave|title=Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zTZnAAAAMAAJ|access-date=23 February 2012|date=1 January 2004|publisher=National Book Trust|isbn=978-81-237-4319-6|page=115}}</ref>

==Analysis==
''Gangavataran'' was a [[mythological]] film.<ref name="Purohit1986">{{cite book|author=Vinayak Purohit|title=Arts of transitional India twentieth century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ae1Zrmz6ETwC&pg=PA947|access-date=23 February 2012|year=1986|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-86132-138-4|pages=947}}</ref> When Phalke directed this film, other filmmakers such as [[V. Shantaram]] were directing films with [[social reform]] as a thematic element.<ref name="MukherjeeKothari1995">{{cite book|author1=Bimal Mukherjee|author2=Sunil Kothari|author3=Ananda Lal |author4=Chidananda Das Gupta |author5=Anamika Kala Sangam |title=Rasa: Theatre and cinema |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uwFlAAAAMAAJ&q=gangavataran+1937 |year=1995 |publisher=Anamika Kala Sangam |page=227}}</ref> ''Gangavataran'' was a flop in the box office.<ref name="Purohit1986"/> ''Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema'' describes ''Gangavataran'' as the "last desperate attempt" by Phalke to direct a film at a time when big-budget Hindi films were flourishing which were characterized by "rural romances with easy-to-follow dialogues, catchy songs, folk dances, dramas of misunderstanding" and the first pioneers of the Hindi film industry were quickly fading away from public memory.<ref name="LtdGulzar2003">{{cite book|author1=Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt. Ltd|author2=Gulzar|author3=Govind Nihalani|author4=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT76|access-date=23 February 2012|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5|pages=76}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0253093|Gangavataran}}

{{Dadasaheb Phalke}}

[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:1930s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Hindu mythological films]]
[[Category:Ganges]]
[[Category:Marathi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Dadasaheb Phalke]]

Gangavataran - Revision history

>Citation bot at 05:45, 31 March 2021