Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya poster for sale.
Featured here is an actual surviving original Bengali cinema poster of the 1953 black and white Bangla devotional biopic directed by Debaki Bose that starred Basanta Chowdhury in the titular role of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu opposite actress Suchitra Sen, who played the role of his second wife Vishnupriya Devi.
Produced by Chitramaya, Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya (1953) also starred Pahari Sanyal, Krishnachandra Dey, Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Suprabha Mukhopadhyay, Anubha Gupta, Namita Singha, Nitish Mukhopadhyay, Rabi Ray, Biman Bandyopadhyay, Santosh Singha, Gurudas Bandyopadhyay, Ajit Chattopadhyay, Bechu Singha, Parijat Bose and Master Babua in supporting roles.
Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya (1953) was a biopic on the inspirational life of 16th century Indian saint and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Believed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna, Chaitanya was born in West Bengal in 1486. He taught that sincere love and devotion to Lord Krishna were more important than elaborate rituals. Teaching that god was accessible to everyone regardless of social status or caste, Chaitanya started a devotional revolution in his hometown by empowering the marginalized to publicly sing and chant Krishna’s names. By encouraging congregational chanting (sankirtana), he made worship accessible to everyone rather than limiting it to learned priests and temple rituals. As such, he is revered as a pioneer of inclusive devotion whose transformative teachings reformed religious life across West Bengal and beyond.
Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film in theaters (somewhere in the 1960s/1970s), this Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya poster was created for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.
This old Bengali cinema poster was originally designed using photographic collage and over painted techniques by a poster design studio in Kolkata and features striking artwork.
The superstar of Bengali cinema, actress Suchitra Sen is seen in her character of Vishnupriya in a stunning close up still on the bottom left. The picture depicts her holding a lamp in her raised hand, worshiping her husband Chaitanya Mahaprabhu played by Basanta Chowdhury, seen in a black and white still in the background on the top right. The artwork beautifully captures the spiritual essence of the film and the sincere devotion at the heart of Vishnupriya’s character.
Typography used in this old Bengali movie poster is entirely in Bengali, with the title appearing in a very creatively styled font in yellow accentuated with a black border. The background of the poster is rust, which makes the artwork in the foreground stand out in stark contrast.
The soundtrack album of Bhagaban Srikrishna Chaitanya (1953) was composed and co-written by Kamal Dasgupta.
