Dhruba

Bengali movie poster design: Dhruba (1953).

Featured here is an actual surviving old Bengali movie poster of the 1953 mythological drama directed by Chandrasekhar Bose that starred Master Bibhu (Bibhu Bhattacharya) in the titular role as Dhruba.

Dhruba (1953) also starred Ajit Prakash, Bani Banerjee, Jamuna Singha and ex-Miss India Indrani Rahman in supporting roles.

Indrani Rahman represented India in the first ever Miss Universe pageant that took place in 1952 (the same year she was crowed Miss India). Awarded the Padma Shri in 1969, she is credited with popularizing Indian classical dance all over the world. Indrani Rahman played the memorable role of dancing “apsara” (angel) Urvashi in Dhruba (1953).

The film was based on the legendary religious tale of Vishnu-devotee Dhruva, the son of a king who renounced his princely life and became an ascetic in a forest when he was only five years old. Dhruba (1953) was a remake of an earlier Bengali film by the same name, i.e Dhruba (1934),

Printed and circulated during the release run of the film in theaters (somewhere in the 1950s), this old Bengali movie poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This Dhruba poster was originally designed in mixed media format using a combination of still photographic collage as well as hand painted techniques by a poster design studio in Kolkata.

A black and white still photo of child actor Master Bibhu (Bibhu Bhattacharya) is seen at the center of this striking Bengali movie poster design. A yellow flame appears like a halo around him, encased in royal motifs on the top. An orange red hue is used in the background of this old Bengali movie poster, which gives it a stunning appearance.

Typography in this old Dhruba movie poster is entirely in Bengali, with the title appearing in white encased inside two royal bows, one on either side.

The soundtrack album of Dhruba (1953) was composed by Biren Roy.