Ahinsa

Ahinsa poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1979 Hindi bandit drama written and directed by Chand that starred legendary actor Sunil Dutt in the lead role along with Rekha.

Produced by Shiv Kumar and presented under the Ashwin Arts banner, Ahinsa (1979) also starred Ranjeet, Nirupa Roy, Asrani, Premnath, Kamini Kaushal, Rajendra Nath, Jayshree T., Trilok Kapoor, Mohan Sherry, Tun Tun, Bhagwan, Rajan Haskar, P. Jairaj and Om Shivpuri in supporting roles. Shakti Kapoor made a special appearance in the film.

Ahinsa (1979) told the story of a decorated military officer who returns to his village only to find his father brutally murdered over a land dispute and the accused roaming Scott-free. Disillusioned by the justice system, he takes up arms and becomes a Robin hood styled dacoit.

The film was dedicated to all those criminals and dacoits who surrendered themselves to the law with the inspiration of Loknayak (People’s Leader) Shri Jayaprakash Narayan. A well-known independence activist and socialist, Jayaprakash Narayan studied at UC Berkeley, University of Iowa & University of Wisconsin and was the recipient of India’s highest civilian award (the Bharat Ratna) in recognition of his social service.

Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film (somewhere in the 1980s), this vintage Bollywood poster was designed for publicity of the film in north Indian theaters but never ended up being used.

This old Ahinsa poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by an art studio in Delhi and features stunning illustrated artwork.

Sunil Dutt is seen in a striking hand drawn portrait predominantly in this Bollywood poster, resting a rifle on his shoulder. Bandits on horses galloping amidst fiery explosions are seen in the background alongside. Villain Ranjeet is seen in a smaller illustration at the bottom right kidnapping Rekha, who is slung over his shoulders. He appears in his character of an evil bandit, holding a rifle in his hand, with cartridges strapped to his chest.

The background used in this Ahinsa poster is a simplistic white, making the artwork stand out in contrast. Typography used in this original Sunil Dutt poster is entirely in English, except for a translation of the title in Devanagari Hindi. The film’s main English title appears in yellow, accentuated with a fiery red border, giving away the action packed theme of the film.

The soundtrack album of Ahinsa (1979) was composed by hit duo Kalyanji-Anandji, while lyrics were written by Anjaan, Raj Kavi Tulsi and Ram Bhardwaj. It featured the memorable song, “Thoda Thoda Sach” sung by Asha Bhosle.