Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa

Amitabh Bachchan Sabarimala Yatra movie poster for sale.

Featured here is an actual surviving vintage Bollywood poster of the old 1990 Hindi film Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa directed by P.S. Mani that starred the two greatest superstars in Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth.

Produced by Madhu Sudan and presented by Dinesh Salgia, Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa (1990) was a documentary styled film that covered superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s pilgrimage visit to Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Surrounded by a total of 18 hills in the Periyar tiger reserve, the temple is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world.

On 26 July 1982 in Bangalore, superstar Amitabh Bachchan was left battling for his life with serious intestinal injuries during the shooting of Coolie. Clinically dead for a few minutes, Amitabh reportedly received 60 bottles of blood from 200 donors, with Indians all over the world praying for his recovery. The superstar made a full recovery a couple of months after the accident and decided to visit the holy temple of Sabarimala in order to give thanks to Lord Ayappa for his new lease of life.

The arduous journey and intense rituals involved required Amitabh to be physically as well as mentally dedicated to the task. The superstar undertook a 41 day fast (Vratham) prior to the journey, abstaining from alcohol, meats and practicing celibacy. Wearing saffron clothes, Amitabh slept on the floor and trekked throughout the journey barefoot.

Printed and circulated during the first release of the film in theaters (somewhere in 1990), this Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa poster was originally designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This old Amitabh Bachchan poster was originally designed in mixed media format by a South Indian movie poster design studio called Aruna Arts.

A stunning photograph of superstar Amitabh Bachchan with his hands folded in devotion is seen on the left. The sacred lrumudi or traveling kit (comprising articles of worship and offerings to be made the deity) is seen tied on his head. His friend superstar Rajinikanth is seen in a still photo on the right. Lord Swami Ayyappa is depicted in hand drawn format at the center of this original movie poster.

Typography used in this Amitabh Bachchan Sabarimala Yatra movie poster is a mix of both Devanagari Hindi as well as English. An announcement on the top in Hindi reads, “Amitabh Bachchan’s Devotion, Lord Ayyappa’s Strength.” This is followed by an English translation that elaborates, “After Kulis Accident, Amitabh’s Devotion, Swami Ayyappa’s Blessings.”

The main English title of the film appears in a 3D cinemascope font in yellow at the bottom, with the word Hindi encased inside it (indicating the film is dubbed in Hindi).

The soundtrack album of Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa (1990) was composed by music director Shankar-Ganesh.