He was called Baburao Painter, though his actual name was Baburao Mistry, since he was a master at sculpting, painting and woodwork. Baburao and his cousin Anandarao bought a movie projector from the Bombay flea market and proceeded to exhibit films, studying the art of movies all the while. Anandarao was busy with assembling a camera for their maiden venture, and his untimely death at this juncture compelled Baburao to go it alone.

In 1919 the Maharashtra Film Company was set up. Baburao had borrowed from Tanibai Kagolkar, a long-time admirer, for the purpose and he also created his own movie camera. The studio itself had a family feel and many artistes lived there, in particular, his leading ladies - Gulab Bai (renamed Kamaladevi) and Anusuya Bai (renamed Sushiladevi). Baburao wrote the screenplays for his films and he was also the first filmmaker to adopt the method Einstein had described as `stenographic` - he sketched the costumes, movements, and characters. A perfectionist, he insisted upon any number of rehearsals.

Publicity was not alien to Painter`s many talents - in 1921-22, he distributed programme booklets complete with photographs and film details. And 1923 saw the release of - Sinhagad. Followed by - Kalyan Khajin in 1924. Together, Sinhagad and Kalyan Khajina won a medal at the Wembley Exhibition, London. In 1925 - Shahala Shah, Rana Hamir and Savkari Pash was released. Savkari Pash dealt with money lending and the plight of poor farmers. The unrelenting authenticity of the film did not appeal to an audience given to mythological extravaganzas but the film failed. Baburao Painter returned to the tried-and-true subject-matter.

The advent of sound in 1931 did not excite Painter. Rather, he believed that visual excellence would be destroyed, and closed down Maharashtra Film Company. In 1935 - Usha was released. The film (a talkie) was directed by Painter for the film company Shalini Cinetone, Kolhapur. For the movie, "Sinhagad", Baburao shifted from painted curtains to multi-dimensional sets. Another first - he used artificial lighting to create the effect of fog and of moonlight. Also, the film was so very successful that the Revenue Department introduced Entertainment Tax with an eye to the film`s box-office returns! But while filming Sinhagad, Baburao fell off a horse, the injury causing a lifelong speech defect.