Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara

Sivaji Ganesan poster for sale: Raktha Thilakam (1963) i.e. Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara (1964).

Featured here is an actual surviving old Tamil movie poster of the 1963 war drama directed by Dada Mirasi that starred the “Marlon Brando of South Indian films” Sivaji Ganesan opposite Savitri Ganesan.

A patriotic movie based on the Indo–China War of 1962, Raktha Thilakam (1963) (Forehead Mark in Blood) was originally released in Tamil and later dubbed and released in Hindi as Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara (1964).

Printed and circulated during the film’s first Hindi release (somewhere in 1964), this Sivaji Ganesan poster was made for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

Originally designed using mixed media techniques by a movie poster design studio in Madras, this Raktha Thilakam poster features a striking design in patriotic tricolor.

The only Tamil actor to star in over 250 movies as a lead actor, Sivaji Ganesan is seen in a striking black and white photographic still on the right. The superstar appears in his character of an army major, holding the tricolor Indian flag in one hand and a machine gun in the other. The photo is taken from the film’s dramatic climax, wherein Sivaji Ganesan leading his troops into battle reclaims Indian territory and replaces the Chinese flag with the Tricolor Indian flag, despite being shot multiple times.

A comic book styled hand drawn illustration is seen in the background of this old Tamil movie poster. It depicts a battle unfolding on the ground with tanks and infantry, as well as in the sky with military planes dropping paratroopers in parachutes.

Savitri Ganesan is seen in a large black and white still photo on the left of this Jhanda Ooncha Rahe Hamara poster. This patriotic movie poster is divided in color scheme to mimic the shades of the Indian Tricolor flag. The top portion is in saffron, the middle white and the bottom a dark shade of green.

Typography used in this old Tamil movie poster is primarily in English, with a translation of the title appearing in Devanagari Hindi as well as in Urdu.

The soundtrack album of Raktha Thilakam (1963) was composed by K.V. Mahadevan, while lyrics were written by Kannadasan. The album is fondly remembered for gems such as “Oru Koppaiyila” and “Pasumai Niraintha.”