WOMAD

Bombay Picture Palace

From India

New Bollywood films have traditionally been promoted with vast oil paintings on canvas, hung on the facades of cinemas as giant hoardings. This iconic art, however, is disappearing quickly in an era when a digital print on vinyl is cheaper and quicker to
produce. Most original Indian movie canvases were circulated until they fell apart; others were painted over in whitewash and recycled to bear the image of the next major movie release, with commissions given by film distributors at the beginning of a week and the hoarding expected to hang at cinemas by the weekend. The use of hand-painted hoardings as film advertisements peaked in the 1970s, with more than 40 studios in Mumbai; now, only four remain, and their future remains unclear as more single screen cinemas face closure and demolition. An exhibition of original hoardings that have survived will be exhibited at WOMADelaide 2009, featuring images from the golden age of Indian cinema, from 1949 to 1975 and complemented by a lassi bar, DJ and chat sessions and a photographic exhibition. A team of artists from a small family business in Mumbai that has painted film hoardings since the 1960s will also demonstrate their work by painting a new
giant hoarding at the festival.

http://www.kalacollective.com/Bombay_Picture_Palace.htm