From Hand-Drawn To Digital: The History & Evolution Of Poster Art In Indian Cinema

Few decades ago, our cities and villages were nothing short of an exhibition space, where the whitewashed walls of the narrow streets or the billboards on a highway were adorned with larger-than-life, vibrant celluloid posters, giving us a slice of the pleasures of Bollywood. Every outing to the city space would draw our gaze to these Bollywood posters, and with time one got oblivious to their presence and the talent behind the making of these spirited, dramatic, and sometimes eccentric-looking posters. The history and evolution of film posters in Indian cine-history is ever so fascinating.

The first few films that were made in India including Raja Harishchandra (1913) and Alam Ara (1931) were either directly screened or advertised through newspapers or handbills as was the norm in those times. The earliest hand-painted Indian film poster could be traced back to the 1920s Marathi film, Kalyan Khajina by Baburao Painter.

From the 1940s to the 1980s hand-painted Indian film posters were in boon. One of the most iconic posters in Indian cine-history has to be for the legendary movie, Mother India (1957). Painted by B. M Gupta, the film is considered as the ultimate tribute to Indian womanhood. Paraphrased: The Mother India poster, featuring elements of Soviet imagery, is widely regarded as a lasting symbol in Bollywood cinema. It is recognized by enthusiasts of Indian cinema. B.M. Gupta, a prolific poster creator, produced numerous posters throughout his career, with Mother India and Pakeezah (1972) being among his most renowned works. These two posters are now permanently displayed at the Mumbai Film Museum.

These posters, meant for outdoor advertisements, cut across cultural disparity bringing alive the magic of Bollywood to the Indian masses. They were designed using a strategic formula of minimal text and a vibrant and almost kitschy illustrations with the ‘hero’ and ‘heroine’ occupying the central frame that was sure to grab attention. In a country as large as India, with its diverse languages, religions, and regions, Bollywood served as a major force in bringing people together. The poster of Pakeezah, for example, shows exactly how text and language were used strategically in Indian film posters. The amount of text has been reduced to cater to the low literacy levels to appeal to a wider audience.

In terms of language, you'll see that the film's title is written in three different scripts—Hindi, Urdu, and English—in order to attract a larger audience base. Hindi and Urdu, which are considered sister languages in India, share a significant amount of vocabulary. In the past, Bollywood films used a colloquial combination of these languages and increasingly incorporated a mix of Hindi, Urdu, and English, known as Hinglish. This allowed the films to be understood by speakers of various languages and dialects. This is why Bollywood is so popular among a diverse British Asian audience, regardless of their Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi background and regardless of their mother tongue.

From the early 1990s, with the advent of technology, there has been a meteoric rise in popularity of digital posters and a consequent decline in demand for hand-painted film posters. It is primarily because of its affordability, convenience in distribution, less labor-intensive, easy distribution and malleability to contemporary trends and aesthetics, which appeals more to a more modern audience. Films can now be publicized on various mediums including social media. During the pandemic, many films were released online, and that is when the demand for digital posters skyrocketed.

Digital posters of Indian films that have come out in recent years have a unique visual appeal in their own right. The poster for Lootera (2013) is a rare gem. It is difficult to find Bollywood posters that boldly feature a single, simple (and slightly grainy) image without any clutter. This particular image showcases the hero and heroine in an intimate embrace inside a vintage car, radiating romance, sophistication, and an old-world charm. The cold blue winter scenery provides a striking contrast to the warm and inviting atmosphere inside the car. Also, this intricately detailed poster for the renowned Tamil film, Super Deluxe (2019) by designer Gopi Prasaanna is miles different from the Lootera poster but appealing in its distinctive way. It takes inspiration from classic lithograph art, incorporating a blend of photographs and illustrations to create a grand visual representation of the film, brimming with captivating elements. If something of this proportion were to be hand-drawn it'd take a considerable amount of skill and time. While the Lootera poster appeals for its subtlety, the Super Deluxe poster captivates for its details.

One might be an analog guy in a digital world but there's no denying that digital film posters are the present and future. However, with dwindling patronage for hand-painted film poster art form, there has been an increase in the interest shown by art collectors, museums, historians, film lovers to archive hand-painted posters, in order to preserve a rare art form that has gradually died down. Although, unfortunately, posters of the early 30s and 40s have perished with time, there are posters of later decades that can be archived, and preserved for posterity, to be studied by historians and art lovers alike to trace the history and evolution of poster art in Indian cinemas.

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