Anna Salunke—A Male Actor Was the ‘First Heroine’ of Indian Cinema!

Yes! You have read it right! The first heroine of Indian cinema in India’s first full-length feature film Raja Harishchandra (1913). He was a ‘male’ actor and not a female actress!! The name of the actor is Anna Hari Salunke, who was popularly known as A. Salunke or revered as Annasaheb Saluke.  Raja Harishchandra was the debut film of Anna SSalunke, and after the success of the film, he became one of the most sought-after ‘stars,’ particularly for playing female roles.

In the early 1900s, ladies working in cinema were regarded as taboo. It was the lowest profession that was denied by even the prostitutes and the dancing ladies performing mujras in kothas. Hence the biggest challenge that Dada Saheb Phalke faced while making the film Raja Harishchandra was hunting a woman to play the role of the heroine. However, despite a lot of searches, he could not convince any lady to play the role.  Dada Saheb even enticed the ladies by offering a huge amount of money, but all tactics failed, and Dada Saheb was in a fix!

Dada Saheb Phalke’s Visionary Decision

Disappointed, Dada Saheb Phalke sat at a Mumbai restaurant, unable to find an actress. He then noticed a slender, effeminate waiter. Phalke hesitantly asked him to play the heroine. The youth initially refused that, delighted by a Rs.15 monthly salary equivalent of today’s Rs.15,000, he quit his job. Thus, Anna Salunke became Indian cinema’s first ‘heroine’.

Anna Salunke,being slim, fair, and having womanly gestures, made a convincing Rani Taramati in Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra (1913).

Interestingly, in Phalke’s Lanka Dahan (1917), Salunke made history by playing Ram and Sita,becoming Indian cinema’s first double actor. Salunke dominated Bollywood until women entered films. After Duragbai and Kamlabai Gokhale joined with Phalke’s Mohini Bhasmasur, Salunke’s demand declined.

He took to choreography for survival. With the passage of time, Salunke got erased from the memory of the public. However, people may forget, but he shall live eternally in the golden pages of Indian film history.