Family to hold memorial at Prabhat pioneer’s old studio

PUNE: Descendants of pioneering sound recordist, filmmaker and

entrepreneur Vishnupant Damle

will hold a low-key commemoration ceremony on Sunday at his former workplace the Prabhat Studio, now part of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) campus.

Damle was one of five founding partners of the Prabhat Film Company, along with filmmaker V Shantaram, and some of his other associates at his former employers, the

Maharashtra Film Company

. He headed the sound department at

Prabhat Film Company

and introduced new sound recording techniques, enabling regular production of talkies. The studio built by Prabhat Film Company is still used by FTII students to shoot and produce their exercise and diploma films.

“He was the sound recordist of Ayodhyecha Raja, which is now the earliest available talkie film in India. It used to be Alam Ara, but that film isn’t available. And he also directed films, including one that was the first ever to be awarded overseas,” said Anil Damle, grandson of Vishnupant Damle. Anil will be present at the ceremony at Prabhat Studio. Part of the studio floor is now a museum, which also has a bust modelled on the elder Damle. The ceremony will be held at the museum. He added that due to the restriction on gatherings, the ceremony will be attended only by some family members.

The 1936 film Sant

Tukaram

, which Damle co-directed with Sheikh Fattelal, also one of the partners at Prabhat Film Company, won a special recommendation award at the

Venice Film Festival

. Damle, besides his role as a sound recordist, became known for his directorial partnership with Fattelal, as well as the films they made, including mythological works, as well as features about saints in Maharashtra, such as Sakhubai and Dnyaneshwar.