Mr. India

Beautiful old still photos of the blockbuster Hindi film Mr. India (1987) for sale.

This is an actual surviving set of lobby cards designed and printed for the publicity of the 1987 cult classic, Mr. India. Directed by Shekhar Kapur, this blockbuster Bollywood movie featured Anil Kapoor in the title role, Sridevi as his leading lady and Amrish Puri as the greatest Bollywood villain of all time, Mogambo.

Mr. India holds the distinction of being one of the 100 greatest Indian films of all time.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film (somewhere in the late 1980s), this vintage Bollywood movie lobby card set was made for publicity of the film and was actually used inside a theater that screened Mr. India! The four corners of the lobby cards feature punched holes and display tell tale sings of being pinned on the notice board of a movie theater.

This old lobby card set was originally designed by cutting out images of actors from separate still photographs (shot on set location) and pasting them on boards. The entire set comprises of ten individual stills. Each lobby card features still photographs taken from iconic scenes of the film.

In the first lobby card, Anil Kapoor is seen in an angry pose on the center of the lobby card wearing his trademark camping hat from the film. Villain Amrish Puri appears in his cult Mogambo avatar in a dungeon lit by red light, surrounded by armed guards.

In the second lobby card, Sridevi is seen in her “hunterwali” avatar wearing a somewhat action figure like outfit and carrying a whip in her hand. Bollywood’s all time greatest villain, Amrish Puri is seen in the character of Mogambo on the right hand side of the lobby card, seemingly delivering his iconic dialogue, “Mogambo khush hua.” Two missiles or rockets are seen taking off in the background.

In the third lobby card, Bollywood’s all time greatest villain, Amrish Puri is seen in the character of Mogambo on the left hand side of the lobby card, seemingly delivering his iconic dialogue, “Mogambo khush hua.” Almost the entire remaining cast, comprising lead actors Anil Kapoor and Sridevi, as well as supporting cast of Satish Kaushik (Calendar) and all the child actors are seen hiding towards the right of the poster from the climax scene of the film.

The fourth lobby card features still photos from one of Bollywood’s sexiest rain dance songs, “Kaate nahin kat te yeh din yeh raat.” Sridevi is seen in a stunning, sexy avatar wearing an iconic blue sari in this rare surviving lobby card of Mr. India.

In the fifth lobby card, Sridevi is seen in her iconic Charlie Chaplin “tramp” avatar, for which she received the highest praise from both critics as well as the audience. Her imitation of Charlie Chaplin’s “tramp” character in the film, which is considered one of the finest comedy scenes delivered by an actress in a Bollywood film, is seen pictured on this lobby card.

In the sixth lobby card, Anil Kapoor is seen wearing his trademark camping hat in a large cut out photo on the left of the lobby card. Towards the right, an iconic scene from the film is captured in a still photo. The memorable scene that features a flying statue of Hanuman fighting off villains (most notably Bob Christo) is depicted on this lobby card.

In the seventh lobby card, Anil Kapoor is seen in the foreground wearing his trademark camping hat. In the background, comedian Satish Kaushik who played the character of “Calendar” is seen along with the child artistes of the film.

In the eight lobby card, still photos from the hit song, “Karte hain hum pyar Mr. India se” are seen arranged on this lobby card, featuring the lead couple Anil Kapoor and Sridevi dancing in various romantic poses.

In the ninth lobby card, a still photo of Anil Kapoor (wearing his trademark camping hat) is seen on the center of the lobby card. The left and right portions of the lobby card depict two classic scenes from the film where Anil Kapoor appears in his iconic Mr. India avatar, i.e. invisible and rescues his ladylove Sridevi from the clutches of Mogambo’s villains/henchmen (Bob Christo is seen predominantly among them).

In the final lobby card, Sridevi is seen in her journalist avatar along with Annu Kapoor who plays the role of newspaper editor in the film. Anil Kapoor is seen wearing his iconic camping hat on the center of the lobby card.

Printed on glossy, thick photo paper, these lobby card was laminated shortly after printing and reflects signs of plastic aging.

Unlike vintage Bollywood posters, old movie stills are smaller in size and usually cardboard mounted to make them sturdy enough to be displayed on a notice board. These cards were typically displayed in foyers and lobbies inside cinemas, and were generally issued in sets of 4, 8, 12, 20, 25, etc. Most Hindi film lobby cards have punched holes on each of their four corners for easy pinup on a cinema notice board.

Mr. India is a 1987 landmark science fiction superhero Hindi film starring Anil Kapoor in the title role, Sridevi as his romantic interest and Amrish Puri as the unforgettable villain, Mogambo.

The film revolves around a sci-fi plot of a device that makes the wearer invisible. The lead character of the film uses the device to fight evil, gathering superhero status and earning the moniker, “Mr. India.”

Directed by Shekhar Kapur, Mr. India is considered as a cult classic in Indian cinema. Amrish Puri’s role in the film was his finest performance ever. One of his dialogues from the film, “Mogambo khush hua” (Mogambo is happy) became one of the most widely quoted dialogues in the history of Indian cinema. The character essayed by Amrish Puri in the film, “Mogambo” went on to become one of the best villains in Bollywood of all time. This was the last film that Bollywood’s best story writers Salim & Javed wrote together.

Mr. India catapulted actress Sridevi to the top and her performance in the film was praised so much that many wondered why the film wasn’t renamed “Miss. India” instead! Most notably, Sridevi’s iconic imitation of Charlie Chaplin’s tramp character in the film was declared as the finest comic act by an Indian actress in Bollywood. Her famous “Hawa Hawai” dance became so popular that it ended up being used often as a nickname for the actress.

Music composer duo Laxmikant Pyarelal gave the cult film unforgettable songs such as Hawa Hawaii (popularized further by Sridevi’s memorable performance in the song). Sridevi’s performance in the rain dance song “Kaate nahin kat te” has been rated as the sexiest ever in a Bollywood song, in which she is seen drenched in a blue saree.

Owing to its cult success and popularity, the film was later remade in Tamil & Kannada. Producer Boney Kapoor is reportedly planning a sequel to the film.