Coolie

Coolie movie poster for sale!

Buy rare original vintage Bollywood poster of the blockbuster Hindi film Coolie (1983).

This is an actual surviving old movie poster of the 1983 film that featured the biggest superstar of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role.

Directed by Manmohan Desai, the film also starred Rishi Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri, Kader Khan, Waheeda Rehman, Puneet Issar, Suresh Oberoi, Mukri, Tun Tun, Goga Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Shoma Anand, Nilu Phule and the animal star, “Ballu Eagle” in supporting roles.

Printed and circulated during the initial release run of the film in theaters (somewhere in the early 1980s), this Coolie movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Coolie is a part of cinema history for an action scene that critically injured superstar Amitabh Bachchan on 26 July 1982 in Bangalore. A mistimed jump in a fight sequence with co-star Puneet Issar left Amitabh battling for his life with serious injuries to his intestines. Clinically dead for a few minutes, Amitabh reportedly received 60 bottles of blood from 200 donors, with Indians all over the world praying for his recovery.

Despite the critical injury, the undisputed “Shahenshah of Bollywood” recovered and resumed shooting on 7th January 1983. In 1984, a year after the film’s release, it was estimated that Coolie had sold 70 million tickets.

The mass hysteria generated post the accident helped make Coolie one of the highest grossing films ever made in Indian cinema, making this Coolie movie poster, highly collectible!

Amitabh Bachchan is seen in a large photographic still dressed as a porter on the top of this Coolie movie poster. He is seen holding a locket in one hand, while the eagle “Allah Rakha” is perched on his other hand. Actress Rati Agnihotri is seen riding a motorcycle below, dressed in biker gear.

Rishi Kapoor is seen wearing a bowler hat in a smaller still at the bottom. Actor Kader Khan is seen alongside pointing a gun in this Coolie movie poster. Still photographs of Shoma Anand, Nilu Phule, Waheeda Rehman and Suresh Oberoi are also seen at the bottom of this Amitabh Bachchan old movie poster.

The iconic fight scene between Amitabh Bachchan and Puneet Issar, which left the superstar critically injured, is seen at the bottom. Typography used in this Coolie movie poster is entirely in English, with a translation of the title appearing at the bottom left in both Hindi and Urdu. The main English title of this Coolie movie poster has a badge logo in the shape of the letter “O” that reads, “Western Railway No. Licensed Porter.”

The climax of Coolie was changed after Amitabh’s accident. Amitabh was supposed to die as part of the original plot of the film but director Manmohan Desai felt that this would not go down well with audiences (given that Amitabh had just overcome death in real life). As such, he decided to change the ending, showing Amitabh making a full recovery after surgery in the film.

The script of Coolie was written by Kader Khan and the film was edited by none other than Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Music was composed by the leading duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Songs from the film such as “Sari Duniya Ka Bojh Hum Uthate Hai,” “Lambuji Tinguji”  and “Accident Ho Gaya” are fondly remembered and played till today.