Shirin Farhad

Black and white film posters for sale: Shirin Farhad (1956).

This is an actual surviving original vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1956 classic black and white Hindi film produced and directed by Aspi Irani that starred Bollywood’s eternal beauty queen Madhubala in the lead role as princess “Shirin.”

Pradeep Kumar played her love interest “Farhad” in the film, while Ameeta, P. Kailash, Kamal, H. Prakash, Jagdish Kamal, Shakuntala, Bela, Uma Dutt, Ram Avtar, Ashabai and Baby Leela were supporting artists.

Shirin Farhad (1956) is widely regarded as one of the biggest hits of both Madhubala and Pradeep Kumar’s film careers, making this black and white film poster, highly collectible!

Released under the Super Pictures banner, Shirin Farhad (1956) was based on the Shahnameh – an epic poem written by Persian poet Ferdowsi which is considered the national epic of Persia. It tells the story of two childhood sweethearts, one a princess (Shirin) and the second a commoner (Farhad). As they come of age, their friendship is frowned upon and ultimately prohibited due to vast the difference in their status, with Farhad being banned from entering the palace to see Shirin.

Printed and circulated during a subsequent theatrical release run of the film (somewhere in the 1960s), this classic black and white film poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This vintage Shirin Farhad poster was originally designed in mixed media format using a combination of photographic collage as well as hand painted techniques.

The “Marilyn Monroe of Bollywood” Madhubala and actor Pradeep Kumar are seen in a stunning black and white still photograph prominently at the center. The still is taken from the song “Aankhon Mein Tumhare Jalwe Hain” sung by Mohammad Rafi. A couple of palaces, one big and the other small are seen in the background of this vintage black and white film poster.

This old Madhubala poster is set against a catchy blue background. Typography used in this old Bollywood poster is primarily in Devanagari Hindi, with a translation of the title and the credits seen at the bottom in English.

This Madhubala poster capitalizes on five memorable songs from the film: The first, sung by Lata Mangeshkar, “Guzra Hua Zamana Aata Nahin Dobara, Hafiz Khuda Tumhara” (English translation: “Times That Are Past Do Not Come Back Again, Goodbye Forever”) is seen written on the top of this Shirin Farhad poster.

The second, sung by Mohammad Rafi, “Aankhon Mein Tumhare Jalwe Hain, Hoton Pe Tumhare Afsane……” (English translation: “My Eyes Have Your Glow, My Lips Have Your Tales”) is seen written on line two. A continuation of the song appears on the subsequent line: “Ae Shama Tere Jalwon Ki Kasam Jalkar Hi Rahenge Parwane …” (English translation: “O Candle I Swear on Your Radiant Flames, Moths Will Burn).

The fourth line features a song by sung by Mohammad Rafi,”Hazaron Rang Badlega Zamana Na Badlega Mohabbat Afsana” (English translation: “Seasons/Times Will Change a Thousand Colors, Tales of Romance Won’t). The last line has lyrics of a song sung by Asha Bhonsle, “Bichde Hue Milenge Kismat Ne Gar Mila Diya ….” (English translation: Separated Ones Will Meet if Destiny Makes Them Meet”).

The soundtrack album of Shirin Farhad (1956) was composed by S. Mohinder and became a hit during the film’s release, with many of the songs fondly remembered till date.