BENGALURU: What do you do when you’ve watched a film you truly enjoyed? You could rave about it to everyone you know, write a glowing review on your social media page or rewatch it multiple times. Somesh Kumar, however, has found another way to spread the joy of good filmmaking. “Sometimes, when you really like the story or narrative, you feel like reciprocating the effort all the cast and crew members put in, but through your own skill,” says Kumar.
The resultant work of art? An illustrative poster of the film or TV show, 13 of which will be on display at The Wall of Art, an alternative art gallery at The Courtyard. A graphic designer and illustrator by profession, Kumar calls the film poster making his personal project, which he started in 2012. While some of the posters will be of shows and movies released that year, others will be of ones that came out 2015 onwards, including Andhadhun, Masaan, Game of Thrones, Jungle Book, Dark Knight Rises, True Detective, etc. “There are some older ones too, like Kaagaz Ke Phool and Pather Panchali,” adds the 32-year-old, whose poster for Newton, though not on display this time, will be featured at Tribeca Film Festival, held in New York City.
This ardent film lover is particularly fond of movies with multiple layers, a feature he incorporates into some of his posters as well. Calling his works more indie than mainstream, he explains, “Your regular theatre posters focus heavily on the star cast. Indie posters, on the other hand, have more elements.” Take, for example, his poster on the Netflix series Sacred Games. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui (who plays gangster Ganesh Gaitonde) seated atop a leopard, with calendar markings below. “This scene from the show is a powerful one, when Gaitonde comes across the animal and gains confidence. And since he thinks of himself as god,
I used that aesthetic in my poster by making the leopard his seat,” says Kumar, who co-runs By Two Design with his friend, Hazel Karkaria. Similarly, the Andhadhun poster from far may look like a recreation of Ayushmann Khurrana’s character in the film, but a closer look reveals other details like a man playing the piano, a pair of legs sticking out from under the piano and some bird droppings on a pair of shades. Anyone familiar with the film will probably associate these elements with the particular scenes in the film. “Almost every first conversation with someone new involves some question about movies or shows. Films are a big part of our culture. Besides grandness, there’s also the print-making and posters that get stuck everywhere. So I wanted to make something that shares the joy of making something related to films,” says Kumar, who adds that these posters will be for sale for a price between `1,500-`4,000.
The exhibition will be on display from Feb 6 to March 5 at The Courtyard, Shanti Nagar.