''Bhishma Pratigna'' () is a 1921 Indian Hindu mythological

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

directed by Raghupathi Surya Prakash (R. S. Prakash). Produced by Surya Prakash and his father

Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu (15 October 1869 – 15 March 1941) was an Indian filmmaker and entrepreneur widely regarded as the father of Telugu cinema. A pioneer of Indian cinema, Naidu established the first Indian-owned movie theatres in South ...

under the Star of the East production company, the film stars Surya Prakash as

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

and Peggy Castello as

Ganga The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

. It is widely recognised as the first Telugu

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

and is also considered by some film historians to be the first feature film produced in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. The film was released across

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, and was a significant success. Made on a budget of 12,000 (worth 2.2

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

in 2021 prices), it earned 60,000 in returns.

Cast

* Raghupathi Surya Prakash as

* Peggy Castello as

* Bunny Osten * A. Narayanan

Production

''Bhishma Pratigna'' is notable for being the first film made by a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

producer.

sent his son, Raghupathi Surya Prakash (R. S. Prakash), abroad to study filmmaking. Prakash trained at Barker Motion Photography in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and furthered his studies in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(where he observed

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era. An e ...

's work), and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Upon returning to India, Prakash established Star of the East, the first Telugu-owned film production company. In 1921, the father-son duo produced ''Bhishma Pratigna'', with Prakash directing and starring in the title role, while

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

actress Peggy Castello played Ganga. The pair went on to produce other films such as ''Matsyavatar'' and ''Nandanar'' (1923), and ''Gajendra Moksham'' (1923). Notable filmmakers

C. Pullayya Chittajallu Pullayya (01January1898 – 6 October 1967) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is one of the earliest film personalities in Telugu cinema being associated with the industry right from the silent era. Pullayya started ...

and Y. V. Rao began their careers as followers of Prakash.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0254184 1921 films 1921 directorial debut films 1920s historical films 1920s historical drama films 1921 drama films Indian silent films Indian fantasy drama films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by R. S. Prakash Silent drama films