Like many of you I grew up watching Bollywood movies. Amitabh Bachchan was in a way my hero. Actually he was my hero :-})
I always admired his ability to dodge, jump and beat up a few funny looking cliched henchmen while he was still up there … somewhere … in the air. Rotating like a sinewy cat flung by wicked kids and gyrating like a celestial body that defies the laws of gravity.
The man can jump, fight, sing, love and woe women – even though he never kisses them on screen. In Bollywood on screen kissing is a taboo and you can ask Richard Gere about that.
How did Amitabh get away with all of the above, jump, fight, sing, love and woe women; and yeah beat the baddie to a pulp as the video tape neared its end?
Because he is fuckin’ Amitabh Bachchan that’s why; and I still admire him after all these years!
So the above illustration is a node to the influence of the hundreds of VHS Bollywood tapes that I grew up watching with my family back in the 80s. What I remember most is how my grandmother Georgette used to break out in tears whenever the lost children, who are all grown, reunited with their mother; blind father; or lost siblings.
It was such a cathartic experience. Good triumphing over evil. It always made me wish if life was more like a Hindi movie. At least in a Hindi movie you get to meet, dance and sing with Ali Larter. Don’t ask – just rent out the 2007 Willard Caroll’s Marigold.
For this design I went with the Pop Art solid look.
Thank you Imad Shawa, my boss at Mlabbas, where I have been working as an Art Director for the past year, for okaying this :-}) Expect more Bollywood t-shirts!
On the sidelines of this blog post, and to explain why I haven’t been writing more, I’ve added the following images of t-shirt designs that I’ve submitted to Threadless. At the moment I am focused on improving my lines as an illustrator and comic artist, and to be honest t-shirt design has become a personal passion.
http://www.threadless.com/TMNT/turtle-minimalism/
http://www.threadless.com/threadless/chickens-dont-fly-they-bungee-jump/
So feel free to High 5 my designs, leave a comment and share – provided that you like them enough to do so.
P.S: Will blog more … promise!
Brick in the Head 