Bombay to Goa

Bombay to Goa film poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving old Bollywood poster of the 1972 Hindi comedy adventure film directed by S. Ramanathan that featured the biggest superstar of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role opposite Aruna Irani.

Produced by N.C. Sippy and presented by Mahmood Productions, Bombay to Goa (1972) also starred Shatrughan Sinha, Mehmood, Lalita Pawar, Kishore Kumar, Junior Mehmood, Anwar Ali, Nazir Hussain, Dulari, Manmohan, Mukri, Agha, Parveen Paul, Keshto Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Birbal and Raj Kishore in supporting roles.

A remake of Tamil film Madras to Pondicherry (1966), Bombay to Goa (1972) told the story of a young woman called Mala (Aruna Irani) who wants to pursue an acting career. Her parents Atmaram (Nazir Hussain) and (Dulari) are strongly opposed to the idea and want to arrange her marriage to a man of their choice instead. Mala falls into the trap of two con men called Sharma (Shatrughan Sinha) and Verma (Manmohan), who submit her photographs to a magazine running a talent hunt. The magazine prints Mala’s photos and her parents are shocked to see the same. Unwilling to give in to her parents demands, Mala flees her home with a lot of money which she hands over to partners Sharma and Verma, who promise to use the funds to further her Bollywood career. However, greed quickly overtakes the duo and Sharma kills Verma to pocket the entire sum himself. Mala is now the only eyewitness to the murder and flees from Bombay to Goa in a bus to save herself from Sharma, who wants her dead. The bus has passengers from all over the country, representing different religions and cultures, making the journey both adventurous and entertaining. Bus driver Rajesh (Anwar Ali) and bus conductor Khanna (Mehmood) add a dose of comedy to the plot. Sharma sends his henchmen to board the bus and eliminate the only eyewitness to his heinous crime, Mala. However, Ravi Kumar (Amitabh Bachchan) protects Mala every step of the journey and the two begin to fall in love.

Bombay to Goa (1972) has the distinction of being the first Indian film that starred Amitabh Bachchan in a lead role, making this Bollywood poster highly collectible! It is also regarded as the first Bollywood movie in which the superstar danced to a song (“Dekha Na Hai Re Socha Na Hai Re”).

Amitabh Bachchan appeared in a few Hindi films prior to Bombay to Goa, but this was his first role as “hero.” His earlier films such as Saat Hindustani (1969), Parwana (1971) and Aanand (1971) saw him cast as a supporting actor. It was after the success of Bombay to Goa that Amitabh’s prowess as lead actor was established, winning him lead roles in subsequent blockbusters such as Zanjeer (1973).

Printed and circulated during a subsequent release of the film (somewhere in the 1980s), this Amitabh old movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Bombay to Goa film poster was originally designed using photographic collage techniques, by cutting out images of actors from separate still photographs (shot on set location) and pasting them on a board. The background and typography are hand drawn, which makes this poster an interesting mix of two very different design techniques.

The entire poster has a single sepia-like tone, giving it a very unique vintage look. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan is seen in a romantic pose with actress Aruna Irani on the top and as a dancing figure at the center of the poster. A photograph of Shatrughan Sinha is shown on the top right, while Aruna Irani is shown wearing a bikini on the bottom left. One of the greatest comedians of Bollywood, Mehmood is shown on the bottom along with actress Lalita Pawar.

The typography used in this poster is entirely in English. The bus coupled with the photographic beach landscape as well as the milestone styled typography on the film’s title are indicative of the journey that the plot revolves around.

The soundtrack album of Bombay to Goa (1972) was composed by one of the greatest music directors in Bollywood, RD Burman. One of the songs from the film, “Dekha Na Hai Re Socha Na Hai Re” sung by Kishore Kumar has spawned dozens of remixes and is played till today.

Following its success, Bombay to Goa (1972) inspired a recent remake by the same name released in 2007 starring some of the finest stand up comedians on television.