Not currently on display at the V&A

Patthar ki Lakeer (1982)

Indian Film Booklet
1982 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In Indian films of this period, women depicted in western clothes such as bikinis were regarded as ‘modern’ in character. This implied that they possessed all the moral values associated with a modern or western lifestyle. This was in opposition to women dressed in saris, who were associated with traditional Indian moral values. As in this image, they were often projected as misguided young women enjoying the ‘folly of youth’, who would eventually revert to their traditional roles as mothers and wives.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePatthar ki Lakeer (1982)
Materials and techniques
Lithograph on paper
Brief description
Indian film booklet
Physical description
The front cover is a pale pink colour on top of which are many black and white photographic images. At the centre the most prominent image is that of a woman in a western style bikini, she is kneeling in a slightly suggestive pose. Surrounding her are much smaller images, from the bottom left hand corner: a portrait of a middle-aged man holding a bottle of alcohol, above him is an image of the woman dancing in a long flowing western style evening dress and hat, above her is a face of a young man with a slightly angry look. On the right hand side of the leaflet there is a young couple in western clothing embracing, below them are two more men's faces, one middle-aged and one young. The titles are in the centre below the woman and in yellow.

This leaflet opens up into a single page. On the inside is a synopsis of the film and song lyrics written in Hindi and interspersed with black and white stills which have been printed over in a vibrant orange colour. The inside back page has a synopsis in English and black and white stills printed over in yellow. The back page lists the film credits.

The very modern feel of this leaflet reflects the theme of modernity in the film.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.3cm
  • Width: 18.7cm
Production typeMass produced
Gallery label
This booklet was displayed with a group of other 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.
Subject depicted
Summary
In Indian films of this period, women depicted in western clothes such as bikinis were regarded as ‘modern’ in character. This implied that they possessed all the moral values associated with a modern or western lifestyle. This was in opposition to women dressed in saris, who were associated with traditional Indian moral values. As in this image, they were often projected as misguided young women enjoying the ‘folly of youth’, who would eventually revert to their traditional roles as mothers and wives.
Bibliographic reference
Rachel Dwyer & Divia Patel, Cinema India: The Visual Culture of the Hindi Film, Reaktion Press, 2002.
Collection
Accession number
IS.166-1992

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Record createdDecember 9, 2002
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