Diwakar Karkare

A master of the poster art form, who painted iconic film posters such as Deewar (1975), Sholay (1975), Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Diwakar Karkare of Diwakar Studio was one of the most sought after poster artists between the 1960s and 1980s. The name behind key banners and booklets as well, he was trained in commercial and fine arts, but was a purist when it came to film poster designs, using paints and brushes. His stunning visuals imbued heroes and villains with a larger-than-life appeal. Creating more than 1,000 posters with his creative imagination and skilled hands, other iconic films he created for include Waqt (1965), Don (1978), Silisila (1981) and Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978). Back in the day, when big posters, banners and hoardings heralded the impending arrival of a film in the theatres, his work provided a tantalising and riveting first glimpse, capturing the emotions of the artists and the essence of the film, thus enabling its promotion. His unconventional ‘knife work’ technique imbued dramatic subjects with an emotional intensity, and continues to be associated with Hindi cinema of the 1970s.

Originally hailing from Nagpur, he was born in 1930, and grew up in Bombay’s Shivaji Park area. It was here that he set up his studio after graduating from Sir JJ School of Art. He was trained in both commercial and fine arts. Starting work at the renowned S M Pandit’s studio, he was engaged in preparing preparatory sketches and lettering and other supporting tasks.

It is believed that the first film poster that he worked on was that of Benazir (1964). His breakthrough came with Yash Chopra’s epic Waqt in 1965, in which he employed what was to become his signature technique of over-painting using a palette knife. He used a conventional ‘stacked heads’ layout for the poster design of the multi-starrer, with each star given equal prominence. His distinctive brush strokes came into prominence in the mid-70s, with his work for Amitabh Bachchan's iconic starrers Zanjeer (1973) Deewar (1975), Sholay (1975), Don (1978) and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977). Coming into the spotlight for visualising Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man persona crafted by scriptwriters Salim-Javed, he brought Bachchan to life on his film posters. His work in the 1975 blockbuster Deewar is considered perhaps his most significant. Employing a pyramid arrangement of faces in a yellow hue, it features Bachchan at the apex, grabbing attention, painted in combative hues of pink. In another poster of the Yash Chopra directorial, he chose to portray Bachchan in a shirt of the fiery shade of red. 

Counting top Hindi film directors such as Yash Chopra and Raj Kapoor among his clients, he was the highest paid designer in the film industry in his heyday. With his posters being instantly recognisable, he was much in demand and commanded a price of Rs.50,000 for his work at his peak. Commanding huge respect in the industry as one the best poster designers, story goes that when he had completed the poster of Bandini, he had called Bimal Roy to inform that the job was done and asked when he could deliver it. Instead the renowned filmmaker told him that he was an artist in his own right and they would come and collect it. So trusted was he for his art that the legendary Raj Kapoor apparently entrusted him with the responsibility of creating the Satyam Shivam Sundaram poster, instructing him to send the designs directly to print, without so much as a single look at his artistic design.

It was he himself who would pitch ideas to filmmakers and distributors on delivering a complete storyline via a single poster. Such was his output, that he could be prepared with presenting the publicity material for up to five film releases per week. Working mainly with oil paints and water colours, he was flexible using a range of techniques and materials. For instance, in the Yash Chopra directorial Kala Patthar (1979), which also starred Bachchan, he employed charcoal to give viewers a sense of the film’s title. Collectors and film historians point out his use of the ‘over-painting’ technique, wherein he used palette knives to paint over photographic images. This distinctive technique created a rugged, powerful and sensational effect which he consistently employed in his portrayal of Bachchan’s Angry Young Man persona. His poster designs created in oil paints had the effect of a photographic still, creating quasi-painted posters.

He did not paint banners, though in 1969 he set up a service called Visual Arts, which produced banners for films such as Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969), Mera Naam Joker (1970) and Mashaal (1984).

Unfortunately much of his publicity art has gone astray. While producers and distributors might have some of his framed originals, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has a collection of some of his poster prints. He himself did not own the copyright for his works, as such contracts did not exist back in the day in the Hindi film industry. His family currently only owns the original art for Silsila (1981).

The changing trends in the realm of film publicity, with altering requirements and the digital takeover, saw his art gradually become obsolete. Choosing not to make the necessary shift to the new modes of creation, he shut his studio in the late 1980s. Disillusioned with the photographic cut-and-paste techniques becoming popular in the 1980s, he told film critic Anupama Chopra in a 2010 interview that there was no creativity in it. 

The Yash Chopra directorial Chandni (1989) and K Vishwanath’s Eeshwar (1989) were among his last commissions. Retiring to Pune, he continued to make portraits for individuals and institutions, including those of renowned ornithologist Salim Ali for the Bombay Natural History Society, Marathi authors and leaders of the Samajwadi Party. Making peace with cutting ties with the film industry, he pointed out that once you left the scene, you were forgotten, and thus he did not regret losing touch and not being invited to key events of production houses whose success stories he had greatly contributed to. 

Diwakar Karkare passed away in Mumbai on 5 January, 2021 due to age-related complications.