Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you see an image of Samba,the character immortalised by Mac Mohan,seated on a hilltop,or on seeing a signboard that reads,Hotel Decent? The obvious answers would be the names of films Sholay and Jab We Met,respectively. Creating movie posters with a minimalist twist is what New Delhi-based graphic designer Akshar Pathak excels in. This movie buff believes that a poster needs a clearly defined purpose to eliminate any confusion from the start by having a single,strong focal point.
Bollywood posters are mostly packed with photo-manipulated images. Theres a heroine providing some mystique and sensuality,along with the hero looking all tough in the poster, says Pathak. So,he decided to add a minimalistic twist to these posters instead. The inspiration for this project,named Minimal Bollywood Posters,came from a Boston-based designer and illustrator named Ibraheem Youssef.
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. Similarly,he uses 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 also created a group on Facebook. Within a course of a few days,many enthusiasts started sending their versions which Pathak then started posting. He even held an exhibition of his posters on March 9-10 at New Delhis India Habitat Centre. Pathak,now hopes to get these prints on T-shirts,coffee mugs and other merchandise. Yet,its not the commercial concerns that drives this pop-art project. Minimalism is an art in itself and when my expression of minimalism collected so many like-minded people who could appreciate the same as well as contribute their work,there was no looking back, he says.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram