Son of Vishnupant Damle, the founder of Prabhat Film Company, Vasantrao alias Pandit Damle has a lot to say about the good and bad days of Prabhat Film company. He was only one year old, when his mother laid the foundation stone of Prabhat Film Company on 1st June 1929. But, when Prabhat Film Company shifted to Pune ( where presently the Film & television Institute of India is housed) Pandit Damle first stepped into the studio holding the hand of his father in 1933.

Later as a child actor, he acted in few Prabhat films; prominent among them were ‘Sant Tukaram’ and ‘Kunku’. Since then, Pandit has been a witness to the historical moments of Prabhat. He has seen the best and worst days. Luckily for him, being qualified as an Aircraft Engineer, he found a job with Air India and then shifted to Mumbai’s Shivaji park area. In 2004, during the 75th anniversary of Prabhat Film Company, he wrote his book ‘Prabhat Samayo Patala…’ which is the collection of some memorable moments penned by him.

The book describes the journey of Prabhat Film Company, right from its inception; with all the details on how his father and Fatelal united with the help of SitaramPant Kulkarni to produce films, which were distributed by Baburao Pai from Mumbai. After V. Shantaram joining them, Pandit Damle has described his association with V.Shantaram and the significance of his scene in the film ‘Kunku’, as a child actor. He has recalled the day, when V.Shantaram saw a German film ‘Blue Angle’ at the preview theatre of their studio. “Mr. Shantaram was so inspired by the theme of this film that he decided to make a desi version in the form of ‘Pinjara’, which turned out to be a hit film,” he says.

We are all aware that Prabhat Film Company offered opportunity to many Bollywood artistes, who later attained popularity. Pandit Damle has narrated the incidence of Dev anand getting his first assignment with Prabhat Company with a sizable monthly salary of Rs.400/- those days. He has also described the arrival of Pran, Rehman Guru Dutt, Sapru, Kamar Jalalabadi and others in the Prabhat camp and has shared their interesting memories. He had also spoken about the time he lost his father and how his elder brother took the responsibility.

Through this book, it was possible to understand the thoughts of Pandit Damle, who at 84 today is unable to hear. During our visit to his place, his wife Neela Damle (daughter of late Madhav kale, a former actor during 30s and 40s) was more vocal on his behalf, making a suggestion to us to write down the questions on a slate for him. And, Panditrao obliged, taking us down memory lane. He recalled his role as Mhadya in ‘Sant Tukaram’ which was India’s first entry at the Venice Film festival and which also received. He explained how Baburao Pai began the work on Lintas Ad Films, his personal association with MacGill of Lintas, Raj kapoor and other foreign dignitaries, who visited Prabhat Studios, prior to independence.

Today, he is happy that the members of the Damle family have come together to institute the Prabhat awards from this year, with a Film festival coinciding with Prabhat’s anniversary. It was a pleasure meeting Vasantrao alias Panditrao at his Shivaji park residence and hearing from him the memories of Golden days of Prabhat Films. But, his book is more expressive while narrating the good old days of Prabhat.