Page 31 - Studio International - April 1973

Bombay One of the most remarkable aspects of the urban while his six assistants are responsible for the
scene in India is the proliferation of gigantic,
backgrounds and lettering. Usually they produce
hand-painted hoardings advertising current about 3o huge posters for each film and each is
film hoardings films. All over Bombay, for example, they different in design. The materials used are
cover the walls of buildings, tower above shabby usually oil on canvas, but sometimes fluorescent
shanty towns and crown the roofs of houses. colours are used and sometimes even tiny metal
As India is now perhaps the world's greatest pieces are glued to the surface to represent
film-producing nation (12o Hindi-language films jewellery. This metal then moves in the wind
made last year in Bombay alone) the art studios and flares in the sun. Some posters are lettered
which produce the posters are never idle. in Indian languages, or English. US or English
Bombay has ten of these studios. Each works films are never publicized in this way, however.
in a particular style and each produces up to 4o Clearly the work is highly specialized and
posters (they call them banners, or hoardings requires unusual talent and special skills. But
there) a month. An art form, unique in India, no-one could grow rich on the proceeds. Most of
has evolved, and although the style is decidedly the hoardings are 10 by 3o feet or thereabouts
not European it represents a more complete and and for them the studio receives something
sophisticated assimilation of Western models between £20 and £22. Little profit can be left
than any contemporary style in painting when the wages of the assistants, the overheads
(Top left, top right, bottom left) produced self-consciously as fine art. and cost of materials are taken into account.
Three close ups from one of the posters for I recently visited one of Bombay's largest I asked Mr Singh whether he ever painted
the Hindi film Tanhaai, the first depicting a poster studios, Jai Hind Arts, run by a Mr non-commercial art, whether he ever exhibited
highly suggestive scene the movie will never show
(Indian films are required to be extremely chaste, Bhagat Singh who, at 56, has been painting as a painter proper. 'Never', he replied. 'I never
even kissing is not allowed). As the Times Weekly hoardings for the last 40 years. His firm is have enough time. But in any case I have nothing
of Jan. 14, 1973, put it: 'Obviously our censors seem independent and he gets orders from the film
to have double standards. While our films are heavily whatever in common with fine artists'. In view
censored, leading to every conceivable kind of distributors and directly from the studios of the impressive quality of these posters and
sublimation (sic), film posters are an assault on the themselves. He always bases his work on details hoardings it is easy to disagree with Mr Singh's
senses and delve freely into sexual fantasy'.
from black and white film stills which arrive estimate of himself. For surely here we have a
(Bottom right) with the order, and after careful rough layouts most impressive public art form which can
Many of the hoardings, like this one, include pieces have been passed by the distributor the real work clearly claim to be an art form in its own right. q
of metal which tremble in the wind and shine in
the sun. begins. Singh carries out the faces and figures, DIETER ZEITZ

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