When Objects Speak

Pathak’s way of creating a poster is simple. He picks a movie and then takes the most meaningful idea or concept from the movie,to use it in his work. “The posters could range from Munnabhai MBBS to Mithun Chakraborty’s Gunda and Doordarshan’s Jungle Book,” says Pathak,a graduate of National Institute of Fashion Technology,Delhi.

The illustrations provide a visual relation to what he or a majority of viewers have experienced while watching that particular movie. For example,the picture of a handpump made famous by Sunny Deol is seen on the poster of Gadar — Ek Prem Katha. He has used a glass of orange juice and a carrom board for Munnabhai MBBS poster and an arm stretched forward with the words “Mera baap chor hai” tattooed on it for that of Deewar. “Each concept is a counter-attack to the growing complexity of the actual poster,” says Pathak,who started this project in February with Agneepath.

Pathak then posted them on his blog and created a group on Facebook. Within a course of a few days,many enthusiasts started sending their versions. He also held an exhibition of his posters on March 9-10 at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre. Pathak,now hopes to get these prints on T-shirts,coffee mugs and other merchandise.