Poster colours

S M M Ausaja's first poster was that of Kaalia. Now several of his 5,000-strong collection are laid out in a coffee-table book called Bollywood In Posters. Sunday MiD DAY presents an exclusive sneak peek

EIGHT years after he'd been searching, S M M Ausaja got the phone call he'd been waiting for. It was a junk dealer who said he had something interesting at his godown in Lamington Road. There Ausaja found not one, but five precious posters of Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khiladi that he had been itching to get his hands on. "I was thrilled, but I'm not stupid. I didn't show that to the dealer; he thought it was some flop film!"

And yet, amidst his 5,000 collection of original posters, there are two that Ausaja is still waiting to acquire. Guide and Do Aur Do Paanch, for which he has visited six towns and 20-30 dealers. In fact, this gargantuan personal collection has come from tapping old producers, distributors, cinema halls and junk dealers. Collecting those of films from the late eighties and nineties is easier, he reveals. Realising its weight in gold today, filmwalas are now possessive about their archives.

A TV professional, 38-year-old Ausaja started collecting 20 years ago and wanted first to exhibit it all, but found no corporate sponsorship. "I could have sold it to an archive, but they would have auctioned it off it's a business, not a passion for them. What did I slog over for 20 years? I'd lose what I stood for," he says.

So the logical progression was a coffee table book that would be any cinema lover's keepsake. Publisher Ajay Mago, of Om Books International, says that he had to look up Ausaja when he approached him with the idea.

"We had done many lifestyle books and are always looking out for exciting stuff. Ausaja was impressed with our Shah Rukh Khan biography Still Reading Khan. I asked around and the fraternity kept mentioning Ausaja as a serious poster collector," says Mago.

However, Mago struck an unusual deal with Ausaja; when the collector mentioned he knew Amitabh Bachchan well, Mago got him to sign the dotted line for a book on the Bachchans first, before Bollywood In Posters (274 pages, Rs 2,500). Yet the poster book is out in July, while the Bachchan one is expected only in October.u00a0u00a0u00a0

Bollywood In Posters is then a look at each decade in Hindi cinema, with posters ofu00a0 significant films. The book now carries a foreword by Bachchan.

Even though he's immensely proud of the tome, wishes he could find room for his favourites like Golmaal (Hrishikesh Mukherjee), Sujata, Rajnigandha andChotisi Baat and Shahenshah. There's even a rare poster of Shah Rukh Khan, his back to the audience, walking away on the famous Brooklyn bridge in Kal Ho Naa Ho. What about the ones the author has included but isn't so impressed with? Maine Pyaar Kiya and the greatest Hindi film Sholay. "It's almost boring," Ausaja says of the poster, "Seems like a rush job."

Next on Ausaja's cards is a book on all the five public Bachchans Harivanshrai, Amitabh, Jaya, Abhishek and Aishwarya, as career chronicles, not as biographies. To think it all started with an obsession with Amitabh Bachchan. "The first poster I bought was that of Kaalia. I was so enamoured by his screen aura. Today, he's releasing my book. I'm humbled; after all, who am I?"

In Bachchan's words
An edited excerpt from Amitabh Bachchan's blog on SMM Ausaja's book Bollywood In Posters:

"SMM Ausaja has taken upon himself a most tedious and worthy cause that of the preservation of history in Hindi Cinema.

"It is tedious because it requires a deep and devoted knowledge of the subject and years of dedicated research and labor in documenting all that films in India have on offer.

"It is worthy because the ethos of preservation has never been a consideration, leave aside a most deserved priority, in our country. With such a vast varied and timeless culture we have as a nation fallen short.

"To possess within the folds of your hands an object of desire from Zubeida and KL Saigal, from Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani to the heartthrobs of today, is a remarkable achievement. Most of us have felt pleasure by holding just one, provided of course, if even that one, is available.

"Posters have been an integral and the most important ingredient in the realm of information and marketing of films. They tell us within the brevity of a few square meters what the product is all about and why it is essential for us to buy that coveted ticket to find our way into the confines of this darkened hall, where paper and painting shall transform magically into moving images.

And over the years this innovative technology of imparting information to us has gone through several interesting stages of development.

"How must a face be used, which posture and in what dimensions, must have gone through an intricate process, to finally conclude in a form sufficient to entice the prospective cinegoer. The hours of deliberation that ensued before reaching a final approval, the choice of colors, the words of description, the credits, all a most fascinating exercise in creativity. Indeed, almost on par with the effort required in the making of the film itself.

"And now to find all the hours and efforts of myriad creators in one book is obviously awe inspiring, but to me a most honorable act.

I must therefore express immense gratitude that SMM Ausaja gave me the privilege of being a part of this book, not within the covers that you shall encounter, but as a commentator of his very sincere and dedicated contribution."

Thirties>Alam Ara is India's first film with sound, but there is no known poster of it. Yet there is one of an exquisite Devika Rani with Ashok Kumar in Achchut Kanya. "She was such a beauty, considered the Madhubala of her time," says Ausaja.
More poster magic: Kisan Kanya, Duniya Na Mane, Jeevan Naiyau00a0

Forties>Ram Rajya was the only film that Mahatma Gandhi was said to have watchedu2026 and he loved it. Directed by Vijay Bhatt, Vikram Bhatt's grandfather, the film was based on the Ramayana.
More poster magic: Sikandar, Aurat, Roti, Kismet, Barsaat

Fifties>There is the unforgettableu00a0 poster image of Pyaasa Guru Dutt resting his lips on Waheeda Rehman's forehead. Then there is this one in stark red; a lesser known Pyaasa poster, reminiscent of Guru Dutt's earlier Baazi poster. In that, Dev Anand's face is a blatant red, with streaks of it almost running out of the poster in its imagery. "These posters were hand-painted works of art," stresses Ausaja.u00a0
More poster magic: Awara, Do Bigha Zameen, Jagte Raho, Kaagaz Ke Phool, Madhumati

Sixties>Among the rare ones that feature in Bollywood In Posters is one of Mughal-e-Azam; a tragic Anarkali looking down at father and son in conflict. But a more stylish and iconic poster is Dev Anand's Jewel Thief, even though the decade may have belonged to his Guide. "The other poster has Dev Anand through the Venetian blinds," points out Ausaja.
More poster magic: Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (split into two images), Bandini, Waqt (faces in stark white), Aradhana

Seventies>You'd think that the poster of Anand would have a slice of Amitabh Bachchan. But no Babumoshai. Surrounded by petals, a happy Rajesh Khanna lights up Anand's poster. But happier and even Andy Warholesque is Raj Kapoor's Bobby (left), one of the mammoth hits of that decade.
More poster magic: Chupke Chupke, Seeta Aur Geeta (Hema Malini perched on the fan), Zanjeer, Garam Hawa, Shatrnaj Ke Khiladi, Kaala Pathar

Eighties>A relatively insipid decade in posters, but it had some stunners. Among them is Amitabh Bachchan's Coolie, "the film that is rooted in the Ramayana, but has a Muslim hero", reveals Ausaja. Another smash is Mr India, with Anil Kapoor's mug playfully splashed all over as a motif, next to Sridevi as Miss Hawa Hawai.
More poster magic: Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Vidhaata, Maine Pyaar Kiya, Shakti

Nineties>Prahaar makes the cut here because Ausaja claims that is probably the last hand-painted poster, apart from Darr, that was only partially brush-stroked. In this, Dimple Kapadia's expression is arresting; yet a close contender and probably starker image was the unforgettable Satya.
More poster magic: Darr, Andaz Apna Apna, Dilwale Duhaniya Le Jayenge, Rangeela, 1942: A Love Story

2000's>Was it a road movie? Or a coming of age? Dil Chahta Hai hinted at both in its poster, a splash of the modern, even though Lagaan, Devdas and Munnabhai MBBS were more iconic. For the same fresh quality, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa's poster stands out.
More poster magic: Black, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Kaante, Om Shanti Om, Taare Zameen Par
Want to win a retro-style poster reprint? Just turn the page