RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM : There is no must, should, have or have not in art forms as art is the other name of expression and freedom. The more boundaries an artist tries to set, the more liberated he feels.
Art sets you free and one such free spirited soul is Harishit Srivathsav Polina, a self-learned Andhra artist from Rajamahendravaram, whose artwork has made a tremendous mark in Tollywood too.
Harshit believes in expressing his love to his favourite Tollywood stars through his ballpoint and graphite artwork. He challenges his creative neurons and comes out with sketches that anybody would fall for. It is said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and Harshit glorifies art through his creative artwork. He loves Indian attire and most of the artwork revolves around it. His favourite is Andhra culture.
He has a collection of sketched artwork of different characters played by Mahesh Babu, Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, Ram Charan, Brahmanandam, sports person PV Sindhu, former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu, late chief minister YS Rajashekhara Reddy, former CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu, noted singer late SP Balasubramanyam, actress Samantha, late Chief Minister NT Ramarao, Apollo chairman Pratap Reddy, film producer and director SS Rajamouli, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, KTR, Mukesh Ambani and many other personalities.
Harshit was appreciated by all Tollywood actors for portraying the emotions of their on-screen characters through his sketches.A gold medalist in Architecture, Harshit said he has so far painted more than 350 portraits. He secured first place in International Portrait sketching competition conducted by Madame Tussauds Singapore on account of unveiling the statue of south indian film actor Mahesh Babu. “I met the actor in Hyderabad and presented him with his portrait,” he recalled.
Born in Mulaka Lanka, an island village in East Godavari district, Harshit is a 22-year-old B.Arch student passed out from Christ University Bangalore in 2022 and now planning to go abroad for higher studies.Sharing his views with TNIE, he said he used to go to Godavari riverside in Rajamahendravaram to get new ideas. “Professionally I am an architect, but I want to channelise all my resources to elevate myself. Fortunately, I got good support from my parents Satyanarayana Rao and Swaroopa. My mother always stood by me in my journey to success,” he says.
It is impressive to note that he sketched 200 portraits of his teachers on the eve of Teachers Day in 2019 .”I had an opportunity to meet the then vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on December 26, 2019 and present him his portrait. I am inspired by Leonardo da Vince, who is my role model, guide and philosopher. I extensively read his history and paintings. His powerful paintings gave great meaning. Leonardo was very much looked upon as a role model throughout his life and is still, throughout the art world,” he said.
“I wish to visit famous art galleries in London, Paris and Rome and spend some years there. Ravi Verma, Damerla Ramarao and MF Hussian, who were great painters in the 20th century, are always a guiding force to achieve my goal,” he added.
Now set to visit T Hampi, Puri and temples in Tamilnadu as part of a study tour, Harshit says pencil drawing is a vital skill that artists must learn. “Mastering the technique, every artist tries to replicate photographs. With colored pencils, charcoal pencils or the classic graphite pencil, some artists produce something more than an exact replica of the real thing. The art work on paper might appear just a simple imitation, but the process, concept and resulting effect is more powerful,” he points out.