Nartakee

Vintage Bollywood posters Delhi print of the black and white Hindi film Nartakee (1963) for sale.

This is an actual surviving old Hindi movie poster of the 1963 social drama that was directed by Nitin Bose. The film starred Sunil Dutt and Nanda in lead roles. Om Prakash, Agha, Zeb Rehman, Pritibala and Aruna Irani played supporting roles in the film.

The film featured a progressive subject that was regarded as a social taboo at the time, telling the story of a dancing courtesan who wants to better her life with education. Actress Nanda essayed the role of the dancing courtesan, while Sunil Dutt played the role of a professor who helps her get an education despite great societal backlash.

Printed and circulated subsequent to the film’s original release (somewhere in the 1960s/1970s), this vintage Bollywood poster for sale was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This old Hindi film poster was originally designed in hand painted format on canvas by an art studio in Delhi, giving it a very quirky feel. Actress Nanda is seen in her dancing glory in a hand painted rendition in this vintage Bollywood poster. A large hand painted close up of actor Sunil Dutt embracing Nanda is seen alongside. Typography used in this poster is primarily in Devanagari Hindi, with an English translation of the title also seen in the poster.

The film’s soundtrack was penned by Shakeel Badayuni. Songs like “Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Akele They Hum” sung by Mohammed Rafi and “Zindagi Ki Uljhanon Ko Bhool Kar” and “Aaj Duniya Badi Suhani Hai” sung by Asha Bhosle are fondly remembered till today.

The lyrics of all three of these memorable songs are written in this vintage Bollywood poster, stylized with musical notes.