From dancing around trees to item numbers, from romantic family dramas to superheroes, Bollywood has undergone a sea change in the past decade. A true inspiration for the creative world, it is now the muse for artists.
Reliving the changing trends in Indian cinema, an upcoming exhibition of sculptures, paintings and videos titled, TAKE 2! Art & Cinema 2000-2010 Harvest II, showcases works of 50 renowned artists highlighting the colourful world of Indian cinema.
“Bollywood is as important as cricket in people’s life today. In the last ten years, Indian cinema has changed. Directors are now experimenting with thoughtful screenplays. Paying a tribute to this changing scenario, we explore our artists’ involvement with cinema,” says Navsar, who has curated the show for Arushi Arts gallery.
While most artists aren’t moviebuffs, they’ve tried interpreting Bollywood as a rich and vibrant subject of their canvas. “I painted the protagonists of Slumdog Millionaire, superimposing that on the popular dog of art called ‘The dog of Jeff Koons’, thereby connecting two popular figures of both fields,” says Saptarshi Naskar. Roy Thomas, who through his paintings has highlighted the change in language, and picturisation, says cinema on canvas has always been an attractive subject as people can relate to the subject easily. “My painting of Delhi Belly with guns and diamonds depicts the new glamour with frank lingual openness. Depicting Bollywood on canvas will draw more mass attention as people understand them better.”
Priya Jain, who has catalogued various moods of Bollywood divas and actors, says this has inspired her to do more work on Bollywood. “I’ve also painted various moods of stars on scarves, cushions and stoles etc.”
On from September 24 till October 8 at Arushi Arts Gallery, 13 MG Road