Arth

Arth poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving original Bollywood poster of the critically acclaimed 1982 Hindi drama written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt that starred Shabana Azmi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in key roles.

Produced by Kuljit Pal and presented by Rita Pal under the Anu Arts banner, Arth (1982) also starred Smita Patil, Raj Kiran, Rohini Hattangadi, Dina Pathak, Om Shivpuri, Mazhar Khan, Gulshan Grover, Dalip Tahil and Shammi in supporting roles.

Arth (1982) was a semi-autobiographical film based on Mahesh Bhatt’s real life extramarital relationship with actress Parveen Babi.

For her stellar performance in the film, Shabana Azmi won Best Actress at the 1982 National Film Awards. Arth (1982) is considered a classic and finds mention in several must-see lists, making this Arth poster, highly collectible!

Printed and circulated during the debut release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1982), this Smita Patil poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This vintage Arth poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a Bollywood poster design studio in Bombay. The printed signature of Bollywood poster painter Randive is seen on the bottom right of this hand painted Hindi movie poster.

A strikingly sensual portrait of actress Smita Patil is seen on the top, with an accentuated pout. She is seen wearing a low cut nightgown. Actor Kulbhushan Kharbanda is seen in an illustration hiding behind a door on the top right of this original Bollywood poster.

Actress Shabana Azmi appears in a beautiful hand drawn portrait at the bottom left, the sadness and emptiness in her eyes captured in stunning detail. Actor Raj Kiran is seen playing a guitar alongside in an accurate illustration.

A vibrant gradient of orange and yellow is captured in rough brush strokes in the background of this original Arth poster.

Typography used in this Smita Patil poster is entirely in English, except for a tranlsation of the title in Devanagari Hindi on the top let. The English title stands out in light blue, while the rest of the text uses red and yellow as contrast.

The soundtrack album of Arth (1982) was composed by ghazal’s renowned couple, Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh. The couple sang and composed two of Indian cinema’s greatest ghazals, which have become unforgettable classics: “Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho” and “Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar.”