Not on display

Humayun (1943)

Film Poster
1943 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Bombay (made)

Advertising for historical films such as this aimed to convey a sense of the glory of India's past - and many of them focused on the Mughal period. The films had fantastic sets and sumptuous costumes and the advertising reproduced key elements which evoked the 'essence' of the Mughal period. In this example the key elements are the Emperor's portrait adorned with a jewelled turban and the silhouette of the domed buildings in the background.

Object details

Category
Entertainment & Leisure
Object type
Film poster
TitleHumayun (1943)
Materials and techniques
Lithograph on paper
Paper
Printing Ink
Lithography
Brief description
Indian film poster.
Physical description
The cover has three portraits in profile cascading down from the top left hand corner to the bottom right hand corner. The male portrait at the bottom is of the Mughal Emperor Humayun adorned with a jewelled turban. In the background there are silhouettes of Mughal monuments. The Title runs across the bottom and on the bottom right hand side is the price of the booklet (4 annas).
Dimensions
  • Height: 18.7cm
  • Width: 12cm
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
This booklet was displayed with a group of booklets:
Song booklets are unique to Indian cinema. They contain a film synopsis, stills and song lyrics. The booklets were sold to the audience for a few annas (pence) and in the absence of cheap recordings people would be able to sing the songs at home using the lyrics. In most cases the text was reproduced in Hindi, Urdu and English. Often artists could be more creative and innovative with the booklet covers than the posters.
Credit line
Given by Mehboob Productions (Private) Ltd., Mumbai, India
Summary
Advertising for historical films such as this aimed to convey a sense of the glory of India's past - and many of them focused on the Mughal period. The films had fantastic sets and sumptuous costumes and the advertising reproduced key elements which evoked the 'essence' of the Mughal period. In this example the key elements are the Emperor's portrait adorned with a jewelled turban and the silhouette of the domed buildings in the background.
Associated object
IS.8-2001
Bibliographic reference
Rachel Dwyer & Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of the Hindi Film, Reaktion Press, 2002
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.52-2001

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Record createdAugust 8, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O61791/humayun-1943-film-poster-unknown/
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