Referred to as "one of the early pioneers of Indian Cinema",[1] his influence is stated to be equal to that of Dadasaheb Phalke.
He was one of a wide range of people who filmed the historic Delhi Durbar in 1911 held for King George V, Emperor of India.
Patankar initially teamed up with V. P. Divekar and A. P. Karandikar, with the renowned freedom fighter and Nationalist leader, Lokmanya Tilak, helping them in getting finance from Bhagwandas Chaturbhuj and Dharamdas Narayandas, two well-established financiers.
This was held in Delhi, India to commemorate the coronation of King George V. They also filmed the funeral of Lokmanya Tilak in 1920.
KachDevyani (1920), directed and photographed by Patankar, had a Gujarati milieu, with traditional and folk dances incorporated in the film.
He then set up a fourth production house called Pioneer Films with the help of Vazir Haji, who financed him.