As you walk miles into the dusty lanes of Gandhinagar, you can’t find them anymore. Just like their work, they have been forgotten.
But, you will have digital posters adorning the walls giving you company at every step. Today, it is hard to find a single artist who hand paints film posters and cutouts owing to digitisation. In fact, the traditional artists aren’t employed by anyone as there is demand only for the ‘glossy’ digital prints.
Rajkamal Arts in Rajajinagar run by Kakaiah Chinappa is an exception. He has been in the business of painting cutouts, hoardings and banners for films for the last 67 years.
He started out when he was 9 and got trained under Guru Shri Sheenu. After working under him and for many other art companies, he started out as an independent artist near Kapali Theatre (RK Puram) in 1972.
His first assignment was to paint the cutout for ‘Bedara Kannappa’, legendary Dr Rajkumar’s first movie, and also superstar Rajanikanth’s first movie, ‘Apoorva Raagangal’.
He proudly shows us black and white photographs of the larger than life cutouts of Amitabh Bacchan, Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini, he has painted. And he is probably the only one left in the state who continues to paint the cutouts.
Today, a shed like structure tucked away in a corner in Rajajinagar is his studio.
His 45-year-old son Gopalakrishna assists him as he wants to continue his father’s legacy, but is worried about future because of the financial burden.
Chinappa tells us that the reason he didn’t opt to turn to digital posters is because painting is all that he knows. “We are struggling to make ends meet, but this work is equivalent to God for me. If I get a chance to live again, I would still choose this profession.”
Some of Chinnappa’s artist friends even took up the job of painting walls for a measly amount, under the BBMP’s initiative to beautify the city.
“If I make 5 cutouts of 8 feet each and I charge Rs 20,000, I ask the producers for an advance of Rs 10-12,000. Whether the remaining money comes or not depends on the fate of the movie at the box office. And whatever money we get, we get to keep only 10 per cent of it.
The rest goes into the shop rent, payment to our artists etc. There have been many times when we are not sure about our next meal.” They take roughly 3 days to make a 32 feet cutout, which is the standard size demand, whereas a digital poster takes a few hours.
It’s hard to get more than 2-3 orders in a month these days. Chinnappa has painted cutouts for 4,300 movies so far. Back then, some of the prominent film personalities like Puttanna Kanagal used to come to him and personally place orders.
The veteran has been a recipient of over 68 awards including the Amritha Mahotsava, Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini award and has been selected for the Kala Bhushan award-2013 by the Central Government.
On the best compliment he has received so far, he says: “Dr Rajkumar once told me that though my name is Chinnappa (loosely translates to small), what I am doing is really big.”