Not currently on display at the V&A

Chandralekha (1948)

Film Poster
1948-1970s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Made in both the Tamil and Hindi languages, Chandralekha has become one of India's most famous period films. The poster depicts a spectacular drum dance which culminated in soldiers leaping out of the giant drums and overwhelming their enemies. The towering figure of the dancer, the sword fighters and the bold typography reflect the spectacular nature of the film.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleChandralekha (1948)
Materials and techniques
Lithograph on paper
Brief description
Poster for the film 'Chandralekha' (1948).; Graphic, paper, printed, Bombay, India, C20
Physical description
Two thirds of the poster is filled with a black and white still from the film showing the famous spectacular drum dance. This has been printed over in green with the titles in orange across the top of the poster. The bottom third of the poster is white. Emerging from the bottom right hand corner is a female dancing figure in dance costume and below her are two men sword fighting. These figures are taken from the same black and white stills that are used in the other poster for this film, see IS.91-1986. The famous Gemini logo with the two boys in loin cloths encased in a circle is placed prominently next to these images and reflects the importance attached to the studio. The artist's signature is in the bottom right hand corner.
Dimensions
  • Height: 102cm
  • Width: 76.5cm
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
Made in both the Tamil and Hindi languages, this has become one of India's most famous period films. The poster depicts a spectacular drum dance which culminated in soldiers leaping out of the giant drums and overwhelming their enemies. The towering figure of the dancer, the sword fighters and the bold typography reflect the spectacular nature of the film.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Made in both the Tamil and Hindi languages, Chandralekha has become one of India's most famous period films. The poster depicts a spectacular drum dance which culminated in soldiers leaping out of the giant drums and overwhelming their enemies. The towering figure of the dancer, the sword fighters and the bold typography reflect the spectacular nature of the film.
Associated object
Bibliographic reference
Rachel Dwyer & Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of the Hindi film, Reaktion Press, 2002.
Collection
Accession number
IS.122-1988

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Record createdOctober 1, 2002
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