Bahurupee

Old Bengali movie poster for sale: Bahurupee (1972).

This is an actual surviving original Bangla movie poster of the old 1972 Bengali drama written and directed by Mithu Chatterjee that starred Anil Chatterjee in the lead role.

Produced by Dinesh Dey, Bahurupee (1972) also starred Tarun Kumar, Jnanesh Mukhopadhyay, Shubhendu Chattopadhyay, Ashok Mitra and Rasaraj Chakraborty in supporting roles.

Bahurupee, which translates as “Impostor,” was based loosely along the lines of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s cult novel, Devdas, which told the story of a how a young man’s unrequited love pushes him into alcoholism and seeking solace with a prostitute.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1972), this old Bengali movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Bahurupee poster was originally hand painted on canvas by a poster design studio in Kolkata and features striking artwork. A large illustrated close up of the protagonist wearing dark glasses is seen covering the entire span of this old Bangla movie poster. A combination of purple and blue is used to paint his hair and beard, instantly grabbing the onlooker’s attention.

Smaller portraits of the supporting characters are seen illustrated inside his portrait, signfiying how their lives overlap and are interconnected. The two women in the love triangle are seen in interesting positions in this Bahurupee movie poster. One appears in an over painted photo illustrated inside one of his lenses, while the other is seen in a over painted still at the bottom right of this old Bengali movie poster.

Typography used in this old movie poster is entirely in Bengali, with the title illustrated creatively inside one of the lenses of the protagonist’s sunglasses.

The entire poster has been hand painted using very artistic vertical brushstrokes, which give it a stunning appearance.

The soundtrack album of Bahurupee (1972) was composed by Ajoy Das.