Bengali art posters for sale: Badsha (1963).
Featured here is an actual surviving original Bengali cinema poster of the 1963 black and white Bangla drama directed by Agradoot that starred Kali Banerjee in the titular role along with Sandhyarani, Bikash Roy and Master Shankar in key roles.
Produced by Sree Bishnu Pictures, Badsha (1963) also starred Asit Baran, Tarun Kumar and Miss Jhinu in supporting roles. The film also featured animal stars Lucy (Dog), Ring Master (Monkey) and Motiya (Goat).
The film told the story of a notorious criminal called Badsha played by Kali Banerjee, who is on the run from the police with a reward of Rs. 10,000 on his head. Badsha roams the streets when the city is hit by a storm in search of a victim to rob. He spots a boy (Master Shankar) who has been abandoned on a beach after his family’s boat ran aground. After stealing the young child’s bracelets, he turns to leave but the boy begins to wail loudly. Badsha turns around to see that a cobra is about to strike the child and kills the snake with his dagger. The two take refuge for the night under a partially destroyed shack on the beach. In the morning, the hardened criminal is moved by the boy’s plight and decides to get him some milk. Upon returning to the shack, he notices that the little child is running a fever and decides to take him to his temporary hideout, a small room owned by a street performer called Raja who shares the room with his three animals – Lucy the German Shepherd, Ring Master the monkey and Motiya the Goat. Badsha is shocked to find Raja running a very high fever and barely conscious. He leaves the little child there and fetches a doctor played by Bikash Roy. However, it is too late and by the time Badsha arrives with the doctor, Raja has already passed away. Both now focus their attention on saving the young boy who is also running a fever. Left with Raja’s three animals and a young boy, Badsha now takes upon the noble mission of reuniting him with his mother (Sandhyarani).
Printed and circulated during the release of the film in Kolkata theaters (somewhere in the 1960s), this old Bengali art poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.
This Badsha poster was originally designed in mixed media format using a combination of both hand painted oil on canvas as well as photographic collage techniques by a poster design studio in Kolkata and features striking artwork.
Kali Banerjee is seen illustrated in a stunning close up hand painted portrait. Sandhyarani and Master Shankar are seen in over painted black and white still photos, while Bikash Roy and the three animal stars are seen in black and white still photographic images at the bottom.
Typography used in this old Badsha movie poster is entirely in Bengali, with the title appearing in a very creatively designed 3D font in yellow, accentuated with a black border. The background of this old Bengali art poster depicts a boat amidst stormy seas, giving away the premise of the film.
The soundtrack album of Badsha (1963) was composed by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, while lyrics were written by Gouriprasanna Majumdar. It featured the popular track “Shon Shon Mojar Katha Bhai” sung by Ranu Mukherjee.
