DECODING THE BOLLYWOOD POSTERS

(A study to understand the changing trends of the publicity posters of Hindi films)

Manash Pratim Goswami Research Scholar Deptt. of Journalism & Mass Communication Punjabi University, Patiala

INTRODUCTION

Even in the age of digital publicity, printed film poster plays an important role. If not the most important publicity tool, the posters on outside or inside carriages -trams, rickshaws, auto- rickshaws, delivery-vans, buses, railway carriages, toilet, wall of cinema hall and busy chowk, etc. draw attention of public very easily. Yes, poster has been a part and parcel of film publicity from the beginning. Evidence of first poster with the screening of the first reel in India on 7 th July in 1896.

FILM

POSTER

Normally contains images of the main actors or a scene or a collage of several scenes of the film with text. The textual information includes -Title of the film in large lettering -Names of the main actors, director, producer, music director, story writer, etc. -Date of releases.

FILM POSTER: THE BEGINNING

Like the advertisements of the early periods, poster in the early period introduced potential audiences to -the act of film screening -inform the experience associated with it in a pictorial way. Two famous available posters of Lumire Brothers and Edison were showing rapturous audiences in front of giant screen. The only text of the poster for Edisons device Edisons Greatest Marvel: The Vitascope, released in United States. The text for the Lumire Brothers device Cinmatographe Lumire , seen in France.

FILM POSTER IN INDIA

Phalke Raja Harishchandra through his hand-painted film poster. As per film experts the poster of Raja Harishchandra was technically far away from being called as film poster.

The handwritten poster of Raja Harishchandra included names of the film, director, producer, writer and the star cast.
Limca Book of Records credits Baburao Painters hand painted poster of his film Maya Bazaar, also known as Vatsala Haran (1923), as the first poster of an Indian film. Earliest surviving poster available is Kalyan Khajina (1924). Baburao Painter designed the poster.

POSTER:

VISUAL PUBLICITY MATERIAL

The vintage hand painted posters remained in vogue until the 1980s. Glossy digital print replaced the hand painted posters.

The hand painted posters which offer a wonderful sense of nostalgia: -on our film industry. -tool that helped to portray as larger than life. Some poster avilalable with Private collectors, museums and auction houses in India and abroad.

STATEMENT OF

THE

RESEARCH PROBLEM

Being an integral part of the distribution and circulation of films, the basic of role posters - a basic sense of the narrative through a frozen image
Being derived from different traditions of popular, traditional and modernist art cultures.

The statement of the research problem is to study and understand the changing trends of the publicity poster of Hindi cinema.

SIGNIFICANCE OF POSTER

From Raja Harishchandra to till today, the posters of Bollywood films have traveled a long way:

- from broad visible brush strokes with a striking array of colors and typography - to modern day digital prints on glossy sheets.

From serving as main medium for publicity to subject of study for art lovers, historians and antique collectors in the present day,

With an array of colours mixed with linseed oil, a community of painters have - created hundreds and thousands of Bollywood movie posters of larger than life - designed and depicted stories of the films to lure audiences to the theatres.

Careful study of the posters of Hindi films reveal several important information on our Hindi Film industry.

OBJECTIVES

OF THE STUDY

The objective of the study:

(a) find the role and importance of poster as medium for film publicity (b) know art of conveying the basic theme of the film through film poster

(c) understand how film posters reflect the changing trends of art, culture, tradition and technology of different times.

HYPOTHESIS

FOR THE

STUDY

Hypothesis for the study includes(a) poster plays an important role in the publicity of a film (b) each decade has a significant and distinguished style of design (c) posters depict socio-economic lives of different times (d) posters reflect the art, culture, tradition and technological advancement of different decades.

REVIEW
Title: Cinema India

OF

LITERATURE

Author: Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel Publication Details: Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Year of Publication: 2002

100 years old Indian Cinema is not only Indias one of the most vibrant cultural product, but also a multibillion dollar industry that produces more than 1000 films a year. Indian film industry recognized globally as the largest film industry, It is a distinctive art form that permeates into the daily life of every country. It contributes in shaping a distinct global culture.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Title: Bollywood Nation

Author: Vamsee Juluri Publication Details: Penguin Books, New Delhi.

Year of Publication: 2013

From mythological films to the films on the gangster and terrorist of the present decade, the authors could describe the changing trends of Bollywood films with the times.

It investigates why and how Bollywood films become an integral part of the socio-economic
and political lives of billions of India.

Depicting several instances of social, political, economic and technical changes that influenced the theme and business of Bollywood, he could explain about how Bollywood films become a mass national culture.

Role play to integrate diverse pluralistic Indian society.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Title: Indian Cinema in the Time of Celluloid: From Bollywood to the Emergency Author: Ashish Rajadhyaksha Publication Details: Indiana University Press Year of Publication: 2009

Ashish Rajadhyaksha brings together his writings of early 1980s to 2000s. Illustrated with images, providing important visual references to many old and new films. Images of posters, photographs, and publicity materials depict a lot about the changing trends. Consists of insightful arguments on issues like Bollywoodisation, the relationship between cinema and the state, on the avant-garde etc.

The visual references, speak a lot about the glorious 100 years of Indian Cinema.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Title: Silent Cinema in India: A Pictorial Journey Author: B D Garga Publication Details: HarperCollins Year of Publication: 2009

The author has documented a glorious phase of cinema in India the silent cinema era.

The book traces the stories of its earliest practitioners and struggle to established film industry.

Illustrated with rare publicity materials of the era- brochure, stills, posters, pressbook and other invaluable memorabilia brings alive the story of the birth of cinema in India.

METHODOLOGY

For the current study of the research, case study method of analysis has been selected. Five Hindi films to be chosen, which made significant contribution such as -set new trend, -reflect the time
-left impactful message

-superior quality of production

The analysis of cases will be made on -of the theme, designing -quality of printing -reflection of time.

CASE STUDY FILM: KALYAN KHAJINA

Year of Release: 1924 Director of the film: Baburao Painter

Theme of the poster: Designed by Painter himself, depicted the

heroic and noble side of Shivaji.

Analysis: Away from the posters of the 1920s, the posters of Painter were more artistic and messaging-conveying. -Baburao Painter, usually hand painted the posters on canvas and then used as the design source for printing on cheap paper.
-Kalyan Khajina won a medal at the Wembley Exhibition, London. One

newspaper, Daily Express, described the films as full of strangely wistful beauty, and acted with extraordinary grace.

FILM: DO BIGHA ZAMIN

Year of Release: 1953 Director of the film: Bimol Roy

Theme of the poster: Do Bigha Zamin was a realist drama about a small landowner. Influenced by Vittorio De Sicas Bicycle Thieves, he expressed

his desire and influence of neo-realism in his movie .

It was a heart-rendering tale of a poor illiterate farmer, at the grips with cruel zaminder as well as the fate and struggling to collect the required amount, within

the legally prescribed time, to save his two acres of land.

Analysis: All the posters of the film leave a strong impression in the minds,
especially the innocent smiles of the members of a farmer family, looking the

cloud and hoping for rain to get good harvesting.

CONTINUED
-Smiling Balraj Sahani wearing a typical farmers hat in the role of a farmer Shambu Mahato and Nirupa Roy as wife Parvati with Sun and corps, leaves an impression of the director being influenced by the leftist movement of the
decade.

-Three different formats of the poster (Hindi, English and bilingual) probably to draw the attention of the intellectual, middle class and semiliterate classes
of the society for the poster.

- All the posters have used minimum bright colours to reflect the struggling life a farmer,
-Black colour in the poster reflects the struggling life of the farmer. -Two different designs of poster- one with the uses of brushes for the figures and other with real pictures, show the experimentation with designing.

MOTHER INDIA

Year of Release: 1957

Director of the film: Mehboob Khan Theme of the poster: The iconic scene of the film-Radha, pulling the plough through the field, with uses of red and orange colour and oil painted poster of the film not only reminds both motherhood and Mother Earth.

Analysis: -The poster shows the hardship of a woman while ploughing land or driving a bullock cart, made with brush strokes. -Red and orange colours enhance Radhas facial expression depict the struggling life of Radha. -Display of the great artistic senses of the designer, ability to conveying the theme.

BOBBY

Year of Release: 1973 Director of the film: Raj Kapoor Theme of the poster: Describes the newly born fashion, liberal culture and increased sexual freedom of the west in the Indian cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Analysis: Targeted to young, energetic, fashion conscious, educated moviegoers of cities. - It epitomized the youth culture and fashion trend of the west.
- Posters found in were in English only. -Rendered in the style of American psychedelic poster of the 1960s. -Characterised by swirling bands of bright colour set against a black

ground, rounded bubble lettering and fluid floral forms. -Represented a new liberalism ,growth of folk-protest music, radical student activism, civil rights and anti Vietnam moments, hippy fashions

DILWALE DULHANIA LE JAYENGE (DDLJ)

Year of Release: 1995

Director of the film: Aditya Chopra

Theme of the poster: Focusing on the romantic theme of the film and featuring different strands and locations of the romance were printed.

-Some poster depicted the romantic couple- Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol dancing in western outfit and the other featured them in traditional Indian attire.

Image is taken from DDLJs most popular song, Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam. Targeting the urban dwellers, some posters featured the title in English and some in

Hindi only, suggesting that each version was created for a specific region.

Analysis: The colourful romantic images of the posters in different locations could express theme.

Designer clothes, expensive brand of attire, vibrant colours of the dresses could

reflect the changes in the lifestyle of Indians.

Better quality of printing and uses of computer software for designing .

CONCLUSION

Every film poster has a story to tell. In the act of storytelling and bring people to theatre posters, posters make an attempt to reflect the socio-economic, political and cultural scenario of different times.

Posters mirrors the different scenarios of times. Do Bigha Zamin expressed the plight of a peasant, who lost his land to the rise of industrialization in the newly independent India.

The iconic poster of Mother India showed the hardship of a woman,. The posters of the film Bobby were successful in conveying growing young radical activism and rebellious nature of the youth of the 1970s.

Poster of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) could express the changing lifestyle and fashion consciousness among Indians in the wake of economic liberalization in the country.

CONTINUED

From hand painted to computer designed poster, the art of designing poster accepted the changing trends of designing and printing of poster of different times.

Changing looks of posters are not only the result of advancement in technology, but also the result of several factors like emergence of modern lifestyles, culture, fashion, literature etc.

Release of digital poster of Sudh Desi Romance (2013), Bollywood publicity poster made a shift from glossy printed poster to online digital poster.

Technology that makes Bollywood poster available not to a limited audience, but also to Bollywood fans spread across the globe.

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