Devi

Devi poster for sale.

Featured here is an extremely rare vintage original Satyajit Ray movie poster of one of the finest films ever made in Bengali cinema, Devi (1960) for sale.

Written and directed by master filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Devi is a Bengali drama that starred Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore in lead roles.

The film was based on the traditional practice of worshiping chosen virgins as incarnations of the goddesses Durga or Kali – a practice referred to as the Kumari tradition (the Living Goddess) in Nepal.

Based on a short story by Provatkumar Mukhopadhyay, Devi won the prestigious President’s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Bengali at the 1960 National Film Awards. It also received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival in 1962, making this rare Devi poster of Satyajit Ray, highly collectible!

Printed and circulated during the debut release of the film (somewhere in the early 1960s), this is one of the rarest Satyajit Ray film posters for sale that one can buy.

This Devi poster features a stunning large close up of lead actress Sharmila Tagore. Her face appears split into two parts, with a line running through the center equally dividing both halves. One side of her face is painted in light purple – giving her a divine, goddess-like appearance. The other half is painted in a realistic skin tone, giving her more of a human touch.

Before venturing into film making, Satyajit Ray worked as a commercial artist. It is widely believed that he designed the original posters of quite a few of his films himself, including the beautiful Devi poster featured here for sale.