Anna Salunke

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Anna Salunke, birth-death unknown, was one of the first female ‘stars’ of Indian cinema. As indicated in the bio-pic Harishchandrachi Factory (Directed by Paresh Mokashi, 2009), D. G. Phalke faced countless difficulties as he strove to find appropriate female actors for his first feature-film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). Phalke, eventually, and somewhat accidentally, found a young man – Salunke – who was a cook. Then again, it is crucial to recall that it was not uncommon, especially in traditional theatre, for men to perform female roles. As well, in the early phase of Indian cinema, that actors would perform multiple roles, both on-screen and off-screen, was a somewhat widespread practice. For instance, while remarkable singers like Kanan Bala and M S Subhalaxmi acted out male roles in the early stages of their careers, it is well-known that Sulochana (or Ruby Myers) performed eight characters, including male roles, in the popular silent film Wildcat of Bombay (1927).  However, one may assert that Anna Salunke was exceptional. Besides, his performance as the suffering Rani Taramati, in India’s ‘first’ feature length film, produced a liminal space for a range of reflections.  Truly, who can forget the scenes in which Rani Taramati tugs her (wet) sari as she listens to the King, and his proposals about hunting, and later her grief stricken expressions as their kingdom is taken away by the angry sage Vishwamitra. Eventually, in the film, Taramati suffers a series of extreme acts of violence, and emerges as a forceful symbol of pain and grief. Moreover, especially crucial is the style, which Salunke (and perhaps Phalke as well) introduced by way of tugging the sari, and by rubbing and hiding the delicate face, as Rani Taramati cries over her fate and the injustice done to her. Curiously, this particular style of performance is repeated in the film Lanka Dahan (1917). Lanka Dahan, Salunke got the unique opportunity to perform the epic characters of both Sita and Ram. From the sections of the film, which continue to subsist, it is also apparent that through his involved acting, bodily movements, and expressions Salunke created a style of performance which was recognisable and could be re-enacted, and that he was clearly an evolved actor who could re-present himself remarkably differently as Ram or Sita. In time, Salunke performed female roles in as many as five films, including in Satyanarayan (1922) directed by V.S. Nirantar and Phalke’s Buddha Dev (1923), for which he also did cinematography.
In fact, as the story goes, Salunke ‘developed muscles’ and in due course also developed the skill of cinematography. It may be worthwhile to deliberate on the industrial conditions within which an actor may become a cinematographer, or perform the dual roles of an actor and a cinematographer. Unfortunately, neither much exists of such narratives of progress, nor any document on Salunke’s life is accessible. Nevertheless, precisely because of such lack, one needs to re-collect fragments of lost films and stories. And, it is within such contexts that one remembers Bhakta Pralhad (1926), a film shot by Salunke and directed by Phalke. 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.