Painter Babu

Painting movie posters for sale: Painter Babu (1983).

This is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1983 Hindi film written, produced and edited by Manoj Kumar that starred his younger brother Rajiv Goswami in the titular role as “Painter Babu.”

Directed by Ashok, Painter Babu marked the debut of both Rajiv Goswami as well as actress Meenakshi Sheshadri.

Neelima, Rakesh Bedi, Aruna Irani, Kamini Kaushal, Veerendra Sharma, Madan Puri, Om Shivpuri, Krishan Dhawan, Pinchu Kapoor and Bandini starred in supporting roles in this old Bollywood drama. Singer Mahendra Kapoor made a guest appearance in the film.

Based on the story of a young man who follows his passion for art by painting portraits of ordinary people, Painter Babu featured several paintings by noted artist Tirath Sharma.

The film was shot extensively in Himachal Pradesh. Both newcomers, Rajiv Goswami as well as Meenakshi Sheshadri were given acting lessons by well known film coach Asha Chandra.

Although the film was a failure at the box office, it gave actress Meenakshi Sheshadri a foot in the door. She would later go on to become one of the most successful Bollywood actresses of the 1980s.

Printed and circulated during the original first release run of the film (somewhere in 1983), this old Bollywood poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This painting movie poster was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by the greatest and highest paid Bollywood poster designer of all time, Diwakar Karkare of Studio Diwakar fame. The printed signature of the master is seen on the bottom left of this Painter Babu poster.

A stunning illustrated full figure portrait of supporting actress Aruna Irani, who plays a courtesan in the film, is seen at the bottom of this painting movie poster. Dressed in a revealing low cut blouse, she is seen lying down suggestively lifting up her skirt a little.

The lead couple Rajiv Goswami and Meenakshi Sheshadri are seen hand painted in pink hues on the top of this Painter Babu poster. Supporting actor Veerendra Sharma is seen alongside in a bust sized portrait.

Typography used in this painting movie poster is entirely in Devanagari Hindi. The title of the film appears in green at the center right, with a paintbrush arranged vertically over the letter P.

Dripping paint streaks in blue that appear on the top give this Painter Babu poster a striking, artistic feel.

The soundtrack album of Painter Babu was composed by Uttam Singh. One of the songs from the film, “Kab Talak Shama Jali Yaad Nahin” sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mahendra Kapoor became popular at the time of the film’s release.