Hand-painted film poster art is in vogue again

After digital prints replaced hand-painted film posters two decades ago, billboard artist Lucas Mondal found himself out of work.

“I had been risking my life for years, standing on scaffoldings in the sun and going without food or water for hours. But the prospect of unemployment was worse,” says 59-year-old Mondal who was forced to take up a job of painting signboards in the Gulf. “The money was good but the desire to paint film posters refused to go away.”

He then decided to come back to India where poster art seems to be undergoing a revolution of sorts. Artists are now recreating the Bollywood magic on various canvases including clothes, accessories, furniture, wedding cards, walls and even garage shutters.

Vijay Kumar, an artist, informs that a few artists have had their work displayed in museums and film festivals in England and Austria, while some have also been invited to conduct workshops and lectures in European universities. “This is a great time to be a Bollywood poster artist,” says Mondal.

Encouraged by the globalisation of the Hindi film industry and the demand for Bollywood-inspired products, poster artists are now being pursued relentlessly by fashion designers, entrepreneurs and art collectors in the country and abroad.

“Poster art may no longer be used for film publicity, but its kitschy appeal still thrives in other forms in the country and elsewhere in the world,” says Hinesh Jethwani, who brought together unemployed artists to set up a company that provides products and services inspired by Bollywood poster art.

“Foreigners are more appreciative of the colourful beauty of Indian film posters,” says M Balakrishanan, another artist who sells replicas of vintage posters to clients in Europe. He says that some of his clients ask to be painted alongside Bollywood superstars.

Insiders estimate that poster art has the potential of becoming a multi-million rupees industry in the next few years, as the markets for the products are getting bigger all over the world. The products and services are priced anywhere between Rs5,000 and Rs50,000. But foreign collectors and NRIs seem only too happy to shell out the money.

“There is a huge demand for Indian film poster art in European markets though the art seems to be dying out in the country of its origin,” says Paris-based entrepreneur Sophie Legoubin-Caupeil who, along with her business partner Sarah Loosdregt-Charlet, hires artists from Mumbai to paint customised versions of old film posters for her clients.

Delhi-based fashion designer Nida Mahmood also works with poster artists for a line of clothes and accessories. She creates her own digital designs which the artists reproduce on products such as garments, bags and home decor.