Title of the film Kamlabai
Directed by Reena Mohan
Language Marathi, Hindi (English subtitles)
Year 1991
Duration 47 mins
PRINCIPAL CREW
CINEMATOGRAPHY Ranjan Palit
SOUND Suresh Rajamani
EDITING Reena Mohan, Smriti Nevatia
PRINCIPLE CAST Kamlabai Gokhale
About the Film
Kamlabai Gokhale was one of the earliest theatre actresses of India. She and her mother are also credited as being the first ladies of Indian cinema having acted together in Dadasaheb Phalke's Mohini Bhasmasur in 1913.
Interviews with her form the cornerstone of the film. Past mingles with present as photographs, dramatic re-enactment and period music evoke the near forgotten years at the dawn of the 20th century.However, the film is not purely nostalgic. It gives an impression of the history and the changes, particularly the history of Indian film and theatre as it was experienced by a woman who struggled against the social structures of her times.
About the Director
Reena graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, in 1982 after her training as an editor. She produced and directed her first award winning film Kamlabai in 1992. Since then, she has made more than ten documentaries, researched and written on the silent cinema of India, taught in leading educational institutions in India and Dubai and served on the jury of several international film festivals.
