Baburao Krishnarao Mestri came to be known as Baburao Painter because he learned painting and took it up professionally. He learnt painting and sculpting on his own. This love for painting turned into a full-fledged profession and he emerged as the leading painter of stage backdrops along with his artist cousin Anandrao Painter. Together, they painted some of the most famous backdrops of the Marathi musical theatre, Sangeet Natak, and Gujarati Parsi theatre.
The duo turned to cinema after they saw
Dadasaheb Phalke`s film, Raja Harishchandra. They worked as exhibitors at first and attempted to assemble their own camera. After the death of Anandrao in 1916, Baburao assembled a working camera with the help of his assistant, V.G. Damle.
Painter floated the Maharashtra Film Company with the support of the local nobility and friends. His first film, Sairandhri, was a commercial success and received critical appreciation. In 1925, he directed a mythological film, Maya Bazaar. He followed it with Sinhagad and Kalyan Khajina. Both these films were based on episodes from Shivaji`s life. The enormous popularity of Sinhagad led to the levying of an entertainment tax by the government. Baburao Painter is also credited with having introduced finer methods of art direction and techniques of filming. He also pioneered the use of indoor electric lighting.
However, Baburao Painter`s artistic masterpiece remains Savkari Pash. Often described as India`s first realistic film, it portrayed the plight of poor farmers at the hands of moneylenders. The film, however, did not do well at the box office because of its solemn theme. He made a talkie version of Savkari Pash in 1936. His other films include Pratibha, Sadhvi Meerabai, Rukmini Swayamvar, Matwala Shayar Ram Joshi and Usha. Besides the
Marathi films Baburao Painter is also known to have directed Hindi films as well.
The films directed by Baburao Painter are as follows:
| Sairandhri |
Bhakta Prahlad |
| Surekha Hanmir |
Muraliwala |
| Bhagwata Bhakta Dainaji |
Sati Savitri |
| Sinhagad |
Baji Prabhu Deshpande |
| Shri Krishna Avatar |
Lanka |
| Sati Padmini |
Prem Sangam |
| Kalyan Khajina |
Usha |
| Rana Hamir |
Pratibha |
| Maya Bazaar |
Rukmini Swayamvar |
| Savkari Pash |
Matwala Shayar Ram Joshi |
| Gaja Gauri |
Vishwamitra |
