Kamlabai Gokhale, The First Actress Of Indian Cinema: We all know Dadasaheb Phalke as the father of Indian Cinema. This is the story of 1923 when he was about to make his first feature film in India, Raja Harishchandra. Dada searched for a woman to offer the role of Raja Harishchandra’s wife, Taramati. When he failed to do so, the female role also portrayed by the men.
The first actress of Indian cinema
The story takes a new turn in his next movie ‘Bhasmasur Mohini’. This time he found two actresses for his film, Kamlabai Gokhale and her mother Durgabai Kamat. These two starlets become the first actresses in the Indian cinema.
Kamlabai stepped into the world of acting at the age of 4, acting in a Marathi stage performance. She played the role of Ashwatthama. She acted with her mother, who stepped into the acting for her family problems and earning money.
On a tour of Nasik, Kamlabai’s company’s director was requested by Dadasahedb for two actresses for his next film. Because of that incident, Kamlabai got the role of Mohini and her mother played Parvati in Phalke’s silent film “Mohini Bhasmasur”. This film was released on 1 January 1914 at Bombay’s Coronation Cinema in Girgaum.
Kamlabai Gokhale life and her career after stepping into the cinema
Kamlabai married at the age of 13 with her coworker Raghunathrao Gokhale. They also acted together in several historical or mythological plays. Sadly, she widowed at the age of 24. This gave her a huge debt but she continued to work as her mother did to support her family.
Theatre always remained the first love for Kamlabai. Talkie’s entry in 1931 waned the popularity of stage plays.
Her statement about the difficulties she had as a young mother and worker said, “I had to work with men keeping strict control over my senses. It was a matter of just one slip. I had my family, my mother and children to take care of. As for women, they had always maintained a distance from me.”
Her family continued the tradition and became successful in Indian cinema which contains her son, Chandrakant Gokhale, and grandson, Vikram Gokhale(Present-day actor). Sadly, we have lost her and many artists of her time even Dadasaheb Phalke. But she became an inspiration for millions of women as a footing of women roles on silver screens. Let us remember such a great personality and respect all the women all around us. Happy women day [8th March]
