Raja Harishchandra is a 1913 Indian silent film, directed and produced by Dadasaheb Phalke, and is the first full-length Indian feature film. The film was based on the legend of Raja Harishchandra, recounted in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The silent film had intertitles in Marathi and its cast and staff were primarily Marathi people. Therefore, it is recognized as the first Marathi film along with the credit of being India's first full-length feature film.
King Harishchandra is giving his son a lesson in archery. A crowd approaches the king who, at the request of the citizens, goes out on a hunting expedition. He goes on a long adventure that involves walking alongside a river and climbing down a forested hill. Tragedy strikes Harishchandra when he unwittingly interrupts the sage Vishvamitra in the midst of his yajna. To assuage the sage, the contrite king offers his kingdom and lays down his crown. Back at the royal palace, the queen is swimming in an indoor pond with her handmaidens. She and the young prince are informed about the changed circumstances and the sage exiles all three royal personages to arrange for his gurudakshina. The trio leaves the palace amidst crying factotums and much frantic gesticulating. The royal couple eventually meets again — this time at a cremation ground where the prince lies dead. The duty-conscious Harishchandra, however, continues to rebuff his wife. The sage is then shown to frame the queen for murder. And a judge decrees that the queen be beheaded by the king. Harishchandra refuses to leave the straight and narrow path of virtue and upholds his promise even when pushed to this extreme. Pleased, an incarnation of Shiva manifests itself on screen. The sage is also revealed to be a benign examiner of Harishchandra's integrity. The king gets his crown back and the rejuvenated little prince once again dons his finery.
The film premiered on 21 April 1913 at the Olympia Theatre, Grant Road for a selective audience that included famous personalities of Bombay (Mumbai) and editors of many newspapers. It was first shown in public on 3 May 1913 at Bombay's Coronation Cinema, Girgaon, where crowds thronged the roads outside the hall, as it marked the beginning of the Indian film industry.