Sohni Mahiwal

Sohni Mahiwal painting style poster for sale.

Featured here is a rare, original vintage Bollywood poster of the classic black and white romantic Hindi film, Sohni Mahiwal (1958). Directed by Raja Nawathe, the film starred Nimmi and Bharat Bhushan in lead roles as “Sohni” and “Mahiwal” respectively.

Om Prakash, Mukri, Achala Sachdev, Tun Tun and Chand played supporting roles in this classic.

Sohni Mahiwal (1958) is an adaptation of a popular folktale in India by the same name, i.e. Sohni Mahiwal. A tragic romance legend from the Sindh region, it tells the story of a young Sohni who is unhappy with her marriage and is in love with Mahiwal who lives across the Chenab river. To meet her lover, she takes the risk of swimming across the river every night with the help of an earthen pot to stay afloat. The love story culminates in tragedy when one night she begins to drown. Mahipal leaps into the river to save her but both end up being overpowered by the strong current and lose their lives.

Printed and circulated a few years after the first release of the film (somewhere in the 1960s), this old Sohni Mahiwal painting style poster was printed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.

This rare vintage Bollywood poster features stunning hand drawn artwork. It was originally designed in hand painted oil on canvas format by a poster art studio in Delhi.

The two lovers, “Sohni” and “Mahiwal” played by Nimmi and Bharat Bhushan respectively are seen in each other’s arms in a romantic pose. They appear deep in love, with their eyes closed, romancing under the shade of a tree. Grazing cattle are seen in the background of this Sohni Mahiwal painting style poster. An earthen pot containing buttermilk is seen behind Sohni, while a cow herder stick is seen on Mahiwal’s side.

Typography used in the poster is primarily in English, with a translation of the title seen in Devanagari Hindi as well as in Urdu at the center right. The main English title at the bottom appears in striking 3D like font in red with a yellow border. Set against a soothing green background, the lettering in this Sohni Mahiwal painting poster immediately catches the eye.

Sohni Mahiwal’s soundtrack album was composed by one of the greatest music directors in Indian cinema, Naushad. It featured a total of thirteen songs sung by Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Mahendra Kapoor.