Saat Hindustani poster for sale.
Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1969 black and white Hindi film written, produced and directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas that starred superstar Amitabh Bachchan in his debut role along with Madhu (Madhavan Nair), Utpal Dutt, Jalal Agha, Anwar Ali, Madhukar and Shehnaz.
Released under the banner of Naya Sansar, Saat Hindustani (1969) was based on the real life adventures of a band of revolutionary Satyagrahis (non-violent resistance fighters) in their quest to liberate Goa from Portuguese colonial rule. The Goa liberation struggle documented by socialist leader Madhu Limaye (Madhukar Ramchandra Limaye) in his memoirs, which were later published in a book titled “Goa Liberation Movement and Madhu Limaye” formed the basis of the plot of Saat Hindustani (1969).
Six revolutionaries, each belonging to different religions and parts of India, make a train journey to Portuguese-occupied Goa, where they join their seventh comrade, a local Goan called Maria. Their mission is to hoist Indian flags on Portuguese forts and buildings, and in doing so, stir up national sentiment amongst locals.
The biggest superstar of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan made his onscreen film debut in Saat Hindustani (1969), playing one of the seven revolutionaries, a Muslim poet called Anwar Ali from Bihar.
Saat Hindustani (1969) holds the unique distinction of being the first film that Amitabh Bachchan starred in and the first and only black and white film of his career, making this vintage Bollywood poster, highly collectible!
Printed and circulated during a subsequent re-release run of the film in theaters (somewhere in the late 1970s or early 1980s), this old Amitabh Bachchan movie poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.
This Saat Hindustani poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a Bollywood poster art studio in Bombay.
The angry young man of Bollywood, superstar Amitabh Bachchan appears illustrated in a striking close up portrait dominating the poster. He is seen holding a revolver in his hand. The reference image used to paint the portrait has been taken from his blockbuster hit film, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978).
The other six revolutionaries who together complete the ensemble cast of “Saat Hindustani” or “Seven Indians,” i.e. Madhu (Madhavan Nair), Utpal Dutt, Jalal Agha, Anwar Ali, Madhukar and Shehnaz are depicted in stick figure styled illustrations at the bottom.
The entire poster has been deliberately hand painted in black and white, to reflect the fact that the film was shot and released in B&W. Typography used in this Saat Hindustani poster is primarily in English, with the film’s title translated to both Urdu as well as Devanagari Hindi. The film’s main English title appears in white in a 3D cinemascope font accentuated with a black border, standing out and creating maximum impact.
Shot extensively in Goa, Saat Hindustani (1969) bagged the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan won the National Award for Most Promising Newcomer, while lyricist Kaifi Azmi won the National Award for the film’s patriotic soundtrack.
Composed by J.P. Kaushik, the album is remembered for it’s hit song, “Aandhi Aaye Ki Toofan” sung by legendary playback singer Mahendra Kapoor. “Aandhi Aaye Ki Toofan” also holds the distinction of being the very first song in Indian cinema to feature superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
