Coolie

Coolie 1983 poster for sale!

Featured here for sale is a super rare, original Bollywood poster of the blockbuster Hindi film, Coolie (1983).

This is an actual surviving vintage 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 prior to the release of the film in theaters (somewhere in the early 1980s), this Coolie 1983 poster was originally designed for submission to the censor board for publicity approval.

This is the very first poster of the film Coolie that was ever printed, making it truly one-of-a-kind and the rarest Bollywood poster surviving today!

A rubber stamp of the censor board is present on the reverse of this Coolie 1983 poster signed by the censor officer, authenticating its submission to the censor board for approval.

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 original Coolie 1983 poster, highly collectible!

Originally hand painted on canvas using oil paints by a poster design studio in Bombay, this old Bollywood poster features stunning illustrated artwork. Amitabh Bachchan is seen in a brilliant hand painted rendition dressed as a porter at the center of this Coolie 1983 poster. He is seen carrying two suitcases on the top of his head, while a bag is slung across his shoulder. The illustration has been drawn from the iconic song, “Sari Duniya Ka Bojh Hum Uthate Hai.”

A Western Railway train is seen hand drawn in the background along with a porter and other passengers in this Amitabh poster. Typography used in this Coolie 1983 poster is entirely in English, with a translation of the title appearing at the top right in both Hindi and Urdu. The main English title of this Amitabh Bachchan poster has a badge logo in the shape of the letter “O” that reads, “Western Railway No. Licensed Porter.” Broad brush strokes and a splash of colors is seen in the background of this old Bollywood poster.

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.