Talk:Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra

A fact from Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 3 May 2013 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that advertised as a "Photographed Play", Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra (1917) is India's first remake feature film?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2013/May. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra.

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Irving who?

This is a copy-paste of a discussion regarding the identity of the Irving mentioned in this article.

Hello! Not your forte but hey.. this is like ancient and you probably have means to find out the answer. Hence asking you.
This subject film's advertisement introduced the male lead actor Hormusji Tantra as "the 'Irving' of the Indian stage". Any idea who this Irving could be? Considering the 1917's release and the film production company's association with American/British films, i am thinking he must be some American/British actor who was famous then. I couldn't find any possible match on Wikipedia. And chances are also that he isn't notable to be here or anywhere in writing. But still thought of giving a try. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 05:04, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

Henry Irving is the man. - Sitush (talk) 05:15, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
Wuupss! I asked this question to you so you could suggest a British guy who would fit the bill. And you did it that way. As i had my doubts of he possibly being American, i also asked MichaelQSchmidt and he gives me Irving Thalberg, an American actor.
I will invite the party here. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 05:38, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

I think he should be Henry Irving, who was dead in 1905 and had left a huge work behind him as compared to Thalberg who was just 18 and had barely started. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 05:43, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
(edit conflict) It is unlikely to be Thalberg, who was a young man when the movie was released. Plus, it seems odd to refer to someone by their first name in this context. Michael may think differently and, of course, has roughly 99.999999% more knowledge of cinema than me. - Sitush (talk) 05:45, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Unless we find a citation connecting Hormusji Tantra to some specific Irving (first name or last), my own thought was to consider an Irving whose works would have international influence in a birthing Indian film industry. Being compared to a lesser known British stage actor is possible as well. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 05:49, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
Lesser known? In 1917? Henry Irving was a titan of the stage, India was ruled by the Brits. I agree that this may be awkward without a reliable source as it would basically be WP:OR but I think the issue could be considered in a footnote if nothing else. - Sitush (talk) 05:54, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
Actually, assuming that our Thalberg article is ok, there is no way that the poster refers to him. He was just starting out as an office boy in 1917/18. He'd be lucky if the people in the next street knew who he was, so to speak. - Sitush (talk) 05:56, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
After further research, I would agree that my initial thought was incorrect, and agree it more likely to be Sir Henry Irving, specially considering the stronger British influence in India at that time. But this remains supposition unless we find a citation making the connection. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 06:16, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
So we finally settle on Henry Irving. But of course we can't add that to the article without a ref and i doubt that would be available. Or can we in some wise way without attracting much trouble? §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 06:27, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
(edit conflict) I think that your standards regarding application of policy are tougher than mine, Michael. And that is saying something! Not saying that you are wrong to apply in this way but I am pretty sure that this is capable of being noted along the lines of "This probably refers to Henry Irving" per WP:IAR. - Sitush (talk) 06:31, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
Just say it and tag it with a cn in the hope that someone will add a reference. Unlikely to be challenged. --regentspark (comment) 09:17, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
In that case don't do it now. The article is a DYK nom and they have strict no cn-tags policy. Nothing stops us from spoiling the article after its once displayed on main page. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 10:57, 5 April 2013 (UTC)
In the meanwhile, we can always ask on the article's talk page that editors share our search for the Irving connection, without falling afoul of DYK issues. Schmidt, ^{MICHAEL Q.} 07:15, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

Your opinions and/or backing by WP:RS are welcome below. §§Dharmadhyaksha§§ {T/C} 08:16, 8 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]