Banarasi Babu

Banarasi Babu movie poster for sale.

This is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the hit 1973 Hindi film that was produced and directed by Shankar Mukherjee.

Banarasi Babu starred one of the most influential actors in Indian cinema, Dev Anand in a double role. Raakhee, Yogeeta Bali, Jeevan and I. S. Johar also starred in the film.

Printed and circulated during a subsequent theatrical release run of the film in Delhi (somewhere in the late 1970s), this Banarasi Babu movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This old Bollywood posters Delhi print features stunning hand painted artwork. Originally hand drawn on canvas by a Bollywood poster design studio in Delhi, this vintage Dev Anand poster displays striking use of symmetry.

Lead actor Dev Anand is seen in a hand drawn rendition on the top sporting a mustache. Two hands holding guns appear mirroring each other on the left and right of the poster respectively. A quirky hand drawn portrait of the lead couple Dev Anand and Raakhee in bed together is seen below. In this portrait, Dev Anand appears clean shaven, giving away the double role plot of the film.

Typography used in this old Bollywood poster is primarily in Devanagari Hindi. A translation of the title in English appears eight times in total in symmetrical arrangement, flanking Dev Anand’s portrait on the sides four times each. The letter B appears in bold and the symmetry generates instant recall.

A combination of red and yellow is used in the background as well as the title of this Banarasi Babu movie poster, giving it a very catchy appearance.

The soundtrack of Banarasi Babu was composed by the hit duo Kalyanji-Anandji. It was a stellar success during the film’s release. Songs from the film such as “Yeh Jo Peene Ki Aadat Aam Ho Gayi (Sharab Badnam Ho Gayi)” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and “Hamara Naam Banarasi Babu” and “Aap Yahan Se Jane Ka Kya Loge” sung by Kishore Kumar are fondly remembered and played till today.