The promotion of a film without a poster is beyond belief! Even today a film poster attracts cine buffs to a film. However readers would be surprised to know that before the release of the country’s first feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913), and India’s first sound film, Alam Ara (Ardeshir Irani, 1931), the concept of film posters’ was absent. So you may wonder how the films were promoted without posters. Well, the only means of promotion were text-based handbills and newspaper advertisements.
Baburao Painter’s First Movie Poster
The first film poster designed was for the film Maya Bazaar, also known as Vatsala Haran (1923). It was designed by artist Baburao Painter. However, the poster is not preserved. The earliest surviving Indian movie poster is of a silent film, Kalyan Khajina (1924). These posters were hand-painted by Baburao Krsihnaji Mistry, who won the nickname “Painter” due to his excellence in painting. He had an inborn talent and was a master in both oil paintings and sculptures. His paintings have been preserved at the prestigious JJ Arts College in Mumbai.
During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s film producers hired a professional artist to work for publicity posters that were put around the cities to attract public attention. With posters gaining popularity an entire industry dedicated to film posters was originated. Special studios were established and the size of posters became larger than life with top stars grabbing attention. In the 40’s stunt queen Fearless Nadia‘s posters had Nadia carrying weapon-wielding, riding a horse, and blazing guns. The posters attracted the public to the cinema halls. Similarly, in the ’70s and 80s, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, and Mithun Chakraborty were packed with action and gore.
The Rise Of M.F. Hussain
Readers would be surprised to know that India’s topmost artist , M. F.Hussain, started his career as a film poster to make a living. In fact, the poster industry reached a great height in the ’60s and ’70s with independent workshops setting up their own businesses like Jolly Art Studio, Kalarath, and Om Studio, which were established to cater exclusively to film posters. These poster companies employed a huge staff of 200-300 painters working.
The ’70s saw a new height of film posters! The images of the heroes became gigantic, and huge cut-outs were displayed outside cinema houses. Film posters of Bobby, Sholay, Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, etc., were iconic. During the 1980’s- 1990’s hand-painted poster witnessed a downfall. Many commercial movie producers moved to photographic images as it resembled the montages more accurately. Examples of posters in this category are Umrao Jaan and DDLJ.
With the digital technology arriving, the era of 2000-2019 witnessed a drastic change in the way film posters are designed. The birth of computers crippled the hands of the artist who designed posters and with Pop Art and photo manipulation techniques posters have lost the charm of the handmade posters. Today’s posters like Dev D and Kahaani, are more glossy, bright, and dazzling but lack the imaginative skill of a human mind!!
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