Sharara

Hema Malini poster showcard for sale: Sharara (1984).

This is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood showcard of the 1984 Hindi film co-produced by the “Dreamgirl” of Bollywood Hema Malini who also starred in a double role in the film.

Directed by S.V. Rajendra Singh and co-produced by RJ Chakravarti, Sharara (1984) also starred Raaj Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Mithun Chakraborty, Tina Munim, Vijayendra Ghatge, Ranjeet, Shakti Kapoor and Kader Khan.

An action packed drama featuring a stellar start cast, Sharara is believed to be inspired by the 1980 political thriller novel, “The Second Lady” written by Irving Wallace.

Printed and circulated during the debut release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1984), this old Hema Malini poster showcard was originally designed for publicity of the film inside the foyer of a cinema.

Bollywood showcards were used as pin ups on notice boards inside foyers of cinema halls. Printed on photo paper, they are mounted on cardboard to make them easy to display.

This rare surviving old Bollywood showcard was actually issued to a cinema hall that screened the film Sharara in 1984, making it highly collectible!

This Hema Malini poster showcard was originally designed using both hand painted as well as photographic collage techniques by the greatest and highest paid Bollywood poster artist of all time, Diwakar Karkare of Studio Diwakar fame. His printed signature is seen on the bottom left hand corner of this old Sharara poster showcard.

This illustrated showcard captures Bollywood poster art at its finest. True to Diwakar’s command over the paint brush, this Hema Malini poster showcard features two stunning hand painted illustrations of the actress, giving away her double role in the film. A photographic still of actor Raaj Kumar dressed in military uniform is seen on the top left.

Shatrughan Sinha is seen in a fight sequence at the bottom, while an army appears in the background.  The title appears at the bottom in a catchy yellow font. Typography used in this Bollywood poster collage showcard is entirely in English.

The soundtrack album of Sharara was composed by the hit duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, while lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. Two songs from the film became very popular at the time of it’s release, namely “Shabnam Ka Yeh Katra Hai” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “Maine Kiya, Tumne Kiya” sung by Asha Bhosle and Suresh Wadkar.