Indian art thrives in Maximalism.
With rich, bold colours and distinctive lettering in street art to ground jewels & pigments in traditional artforms, Indian art has evolved with a loudness that balances expression and intention in an encapsulated whole; it’s rarity, novelty and discipline.
In the second half of 20th Century, the Indian film industry transcended to new heights. In an era devoid of social media, digital posters and trailers, the film was brought to the eyes of the masses by artists. With hand painted posters, they shaped the audience’s perception and success of the film.
Displayed outside cinema halls and in public spheres, these paintings acted as the primary medium of film publicity. Painted with oil on canvas, the paintings were often vibrant, containing minimal but 3D lettering, appearing in Hindi, English and Urdu. With its hero and heroine positioned in the middle of the frame; the purpose of the poster painting was to command the public eye.
Before mass-printed posters began appearing outside theatre walls, hand painted poster paintings became the face & the voice of the story behind the reel. Amongst these artists, the name of Brijmohan Gupta aka “Devdas” shines the brightest.
Born in Jaipur, Gupta continued to create hand painted posters for more than 50 years. Under his name, he created poster paintings for films like Mother India, Pakeezah, and Kajal featuring Meena Kumari, among many others.
The oldest surviving hand-painted poster painting in the history of Indian cinema comes from the 1924 Marathi film, Kalyan Khajina: appearing in a soft composition, akin to the European academic oil paintings combined with Indian mythological themes and motifs. Meanwhile modern films like Mother India celebrated a mood and figure similar to Stalin-led Soviet portrayal of the new female. The evolution of the hand-painted posters as an art mimics the social evolution of its time.
In 2017, several hand-painted posters from BM Gupta’s oeuvre klwere displayed at the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai.
With an aim to celebrate and encourage the resurgence of Indian arts & heritage, Conferro offers these invaluable relics of Indian cinematic history to those who hold heritage close to their hearts.
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