Juxtapoz Art and Culture Magazine. April 2009. Issue #99

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Through the everlasting downpour of an Indian monsoon, a radiant celebrity face smiles unaffectedly. The coveted features of this Bollywood star are static under the beating rain, forever enacting one petrified romance or halted action sequence. These characters are trapped within the flat realm of a hand painted film poster, donated by Balkrishna Arts to those in need. Surfaced with oil-based paint, this waterproof poster dutifully shields a shantytown roof from the deluge of monsoon season. The masterpiece flaunts Bollywood’s heroes in all their cinematic glory, ironically juxtaposed against rotting shanties. The film poster advertises last year’s blockbuster to a torrential sky, the signature of Balkrishna L. Vaidya beaming into the monsoon.

 

 

 

Hand painted Bollywood film posters were in high demand until the digital age overtook Mumbai, India. In the most populous city in the world, an entire industry of artists once specialized in hand painted Indian Cinema posters. Yet in the age of mechanical reproduction, each artist studio has slipped into extinction: all but Balkrishna Arts. The last of his kind, Balkrishna preserves the idyllic art form that once fueled Indian mass culture. His is a story of man versus machine. Sadly, the machine prevailed and an entire industry of artists became a diaspora of mailmen, bellboys, and clerks. Balkrishna looks to the past with nostalgia, but by tapping into an international market of collectors, he has created a hopeful nook in history for his life’s work.

 

Q: How did the impoverished citizens of Mumbai acquire old movie posters to fortify for their shelters?

 

A: It’s true: we donate posters to poor people if the posters come back to us. Because they are100% waterproof. But now there are no more poor people in Mumbai, they have all been shifted out of Mumbai by the government. We used to donate posters to people working in the field, who put up and removed posters from the theatres. They would pass the message to poor people that Studio Balkrishna had some old posters that week. They would come ask us about the old posters and we would often donate them if the producer didn’t need them. This was only in the rainy season, because the posters are made with oil-based paint and are waterproof.

 

Q: You were born into a family of goldsmiths. Why did you reject the family trade to pursue a career in the arts?

 

A: I grew up in a very small village called Harne. At that time gold was an antique thing so I thought to run to Bombay (now Mumbai).

 

Q: It must have been challenging to be uprooted from a small village and move to the most populous city in the world. Were you able to maintain strong family ties?

 

A: I was well connected with my family when I came to Mumbai. For three years I worked without payment, so I only had my family to support me. I cannot tell you how hard that time was. My family sold their village house and moved to Mumbai, which made me feel very bad but I promised the village people that after a few years I would bu y a new house across from my old house. Twenty years ago, I bought a place across from my old house and now we have a beautiful two-story home. This is how my village has remained connected to me.

 

Q: What attracted you to the hand painted Bollywood film posters?

 

A: I came Mumbai looking for any kind of work, while staying with my sister in Mahim. Someone told me that a certain company needed an assistant painter. So in 1952 I started working in modern art as an assistant without any payment. I worked like this year after year. Studio Ganesh gave me my first real break as an artist. Ganesh took me to a different part of India to paint movie posters. In this period I started making small poster designs for many films. One producer named Gopal Segal liked my work and asked me to make his big film posters. Then in 1969 I opened my own studio at Dadar.

 

Q: When digital mass production of movie posters became cheaper than hand painting methods, why did Balkrishna Arts resist a digital transformation?

 

A: No studios turned digital to produce movie posters. Almost all the studios are closed, only 1% of the studios are still open, and that is “Studio Balkrishna.” I had my own studio in Dadar but it is closed now. We had to move to another place called Mahim. It is smaller, because now we no longer make posters that are 40x60 feet. Now we workonly for Europe and other countries, and I believe in our difficult hand made process. This creates a 100% different result. That is why I still work, even though I am 74 years old.

 

Q: Why is Studio Balkrishna the only survivor of Bollywood’s digital age?

 

A: Since 1999, we have been the only studio that survived the digitalization of movie posters. In 1993, Mr. Hans Dermels from PSA Publishers Ltd of Zurich visited our studio to learn about Bollywood. He liked our fast style of working. At that time the machines could not make posters as fast and as large. We were invited for our first visit to a European country, and still we are invited to different countries to make large hand painted posters.

 

Q: How have Bollywood films changed since the 1990's, when an influx of investors globalized the industry?

 

A: Bollywood has totally changed since 1995. You should visit Mumbai one day so you can learn more about Bollywood. I think after 1985 the name “Bollywood” was coined; in our time we referred to it as “Indian Cinema.” This is the real name and they called for our cinema posters, the highlight of Indian Cinema.

 

Q: What are the benefits and losses of Bollywood’s globalization?

 

A: How can I think now about benefits and losses? But still I am working because of my god given gift in art.

 

Q: Is it true that the Bombay Underworld largely funds and influences Bollywood films?

 

A: I don’t know personally, but in TV news they always show that the Bombay underworld is the main funder and has the largest influence in Bollywood films.

 

Q: Does Indian mass culture now overlook traditional artisan relics, such as the hand painted film hoardings?

 

A: There are many cultures in India, not just Bollywood, but no one has time to see them. At that time many people were watching us work with brushes in our studio. Now no one has time. Neither does the government. But I am happy with what I have done in my life; only I remember my old days. I cannot forget anyone who has helped me reach this point in my life.

 

Q: Have the Bollywood films lost a connection with the Indian people, now that the artist’s hand is removed from the movie posters?

 

A: No. In Mumbai and all over India, no one thinks about a lost connection because there are no hand painted posters. The young boys and girls like the new Bollywood films and they don’t know about hand painted posters. If you give them anything new, a few hours later that is what sticks in their mind. Now in Mumbai, within an hour, you will get something else new.

 

Q: Do you still feel inspiration to paint posters that are not for real Bollywood films?

 

A: I would like to paint Indian film posters but not for Mumbai. I think it’s better to work for uniqueness: museums from Europe and other countries commission us to paint cinema movie posters. They invite us to give live demonstrations of our art form that no longer exists in their countries. We have not lost any energy; we have only lost our minds, because artists are very deep-feeling people.

 

Q: Now that the radio, television shows, and websites have taken over the role of advertising new films, have the posters disappeared completely from the Mumbai public landscape?

 

A: The posters have completely disappeared from the public landscape in Mumbai. It’s a loss of traditional culture because many people moved to Bollywood to work in the India Cinema, and lost. There were many hand painting artists, not just me, and there were many new up and coming artists. But still, I am surviving in Bollywood.

 

Q: Mumbai is the center of Bollywood, and was once the capital of hand painted movie posters. What did the process of hand painting entail?

 

A: We are totally working with hand mixing. Also we don’t use a projector. That’s why we are called hand painting poster artists, but in different parts of India the artists used projectors. Mumbai is the only place where all artists worked by hand, that is why Mumbai is called the Heart of Bollywood.

 

Q: How are you able to produce high quality paintings with inexpensive materials?

 

A: We work with oil colors that are totally waterproof. The high quality of our posters is due to the process we use, not the materials. But we use the best of our material. We used to order 100 kg of color every month, but now we buy smaller quantities and the paint is more expensive.

 

Q: If hand painting the movie posters was faster than producing them by machine up until 1995, how many posters did Balkrishna Arts produce each week?

 

A: It depends on the amount of posters and how much time the producer has given us to paint. One time in 1995 or 1996 we made seventy posters, 20x10 feet in size, between Monday and Thursday. On Friday the movie was on screen. It was the movie Gupt by the big producer, Mr. Gulshan Rai. He made many big films at that time. This shows the teamwork of our studio and we received an award for that.

 

Q: How many artists now work at Balkrishna Arts?

 

A: Now we have three artists working in this studio. At that time we had ten to fifteen artists in my studio.

 

Q: Will your son, Ujjwal, carry on the business when you retire?

 

A: I don’t know, you can ask Ujjwal personally. Since 1993 we have had many tours around the world, all organized by Ujjwal. He knows all the things that we require in that place. He is event manager from our site and we all travel along with him.

 

Q: How did the November 2008 bombings affect Mumbai? How has the city recovered from these attacks?

 

A: There has been no affect on Mumbai’s people. They started working the next day. We feel bad about the victims who died in this bombing, and their families. You see, the word “Bombay” versus “bombing” is really only one word, so you can imagine how strong the people of Mumbai are.

 

Q: Has there been a notable difference in public space and daily life since the bombings? Is there a restored sense of security in 2009?

 

A: Yes, there are two or three buildings under restoration. Work is going very fast and the Mumbai police force is one of the greatest police forces in India. They managed in a few hours to restore security.

 

Q: When you aren’t hard at work in the studio, what are the best ways to relax in Mumbai?

 

A: In Mumbai we have many activities. We watch dramas and cinema, and play games like cricket. Sometimes we spend time with our family members or have time to relax, depending on work. The last three or four years we have taken Sunday holidays. But when we were working in the big studio, we worked regularly without a day off. Now we have a small studio in Mahim, but still there is no way to relax because our telephone number is in all the tourist guidebooks.

 

Q: What is the best part about living in Mumbai?

 

A: Normal people who have government jobs enjoy the best part of Mumbai life because they get payment on time and time to work. If you have a government job you can enjoy the best living in Mumbai.

 

Q: What place, activity, or tradition is the center of culture in Mumbai?

 

A: There is no center anymore. This is the time of the young boys’ digital world, so you can imagine culture in Mumbai.

 

Q: Although you look back to the "old days" of hand painted movie posters with nostalgia, are you satisfied with your current niche in the international art market?

 

A: Now I do not look back at the old days. Gone is gone. But I think about the artists that were up and coming when their studios closed down. They were in the middle of their lives, well learned. A few days ago I heard that some of the artists are working as courier boys, and some in clothing stores and hotels. What happened? After working and learning about art and culture, they have nowhere to go. When you see a Bollywood or Hollywood film, after the film has finished the only thing you see on the screen is “THE END.” This is the real end of our lives as artists, based on films called “BOLLYWOOD.”

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