Drawing New Meaning

Much before Satyajit Ray became iconic for his path-breaking films, there was a legacy of fine art that existed and continued to flourish and inform his film making journey through his inventive posters, cover designs, illustrations and use of calligraphy

- Suzanne McNeill

I miss the movie posters that lined Anna Salai in Chennai. We saw the huge painted billboards advertising Tamil films every day on our way to work. They were bold, garish and fun, with figures that were larger than life. A thousand miles north, the city of Kolkata has a distinct legacy of movie poster art that is as unique to its traditions of regional film-making as Chennai’s hoardings were to kollywood. it is embodied in the work of Bengal’s most influential filmmaker, Satyajit Ray (1921– 1992), a creative genius who also worked as an illustrator, graphic designer and typographer. ray made films that showed a deep and enduring connection between his sensibility as an artist and the possibilities of cinema, honed by years of experience that was both pioneering and practical.

At only 30 years old, ray was already bengal’s outstanding commercial artist. he was art director at an advertising agency called DJ keymer, where his artistic talents and willingness to experiment had already brought him recognition and success. his passion for the art of cinema was certainly present – in 1948, ray was one of the founders of the Calcutta Film Society, set up to cultivate a greater awareness of film as an art – but it was as an illustrator and graphic designer that he was forging his career.