
17/08/2025
Silent Film - Kaliya Mardan directed, photographed, and written by D. G. Phalke, the 1919 silent film Kaliya Mardan is considered the first definitive masterpiece of Indian cinema. The film’s story is a mythological tale depicting the child Krishna vanquishing the venomous serpent, Kaliya. The role of Krishna was played by Phalke’s daughter, Mandakini Phalke, while the cast also included Neelkanth.
The film, originally shot on 35mm, is notable for its innovative blend of realism and fantasy. Phalke masterfully integrated Western film techniques with a uniquely Indian ethos, which solidified the film’s place as a pioneering work in the country’s cinematic history. While the original length of the film was 6,000 feet, only 49 minutes of the film have survived which is preserved by the National Film Archive of India and was recently restored in 4K by the film archive under National Film Heritage Mission.