Painting the town filmy

Bollywood stars painting

Bhaijaanz
What had started out as a small takeaway place years ago was recently transformed into a dine-in restaurant as an ode to the superstar that Salman Khan is.

The brainchild of five of Bhai's biggest fans, this resto-lounge bears the Salman stamp right from the décor to the menu. While the entrance bears an uncanny resemblance to Salman's Galaxy apartments, the chandeliers are made of recycled bicycle materials as a tribute to the actor's love for biking. Blue bracelets similar to the one Salman wears are placed on every table and the TV sets constantly play his hit music videos. What's more, the menu comprises dishes like ‘Andaz Apna Apna' and ‘Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyali Ho'… The place is an unmistakable tribute to Salman's stardom.

Bollywood Art Project (BAP)
Touted as the country's first urban street art project, BAP was started by artist and graphic designer Ranjit Dahiya in 2012 as a campaign to capture Bollywood on the Mumbai landscape.

A hand-painted humongous poster of Mogambo at Chapel Road, Bandra. Pic/BAP

The exteriors of quaint, grungy houses in Bandra have been turned into humongous film posters - hand-painted with an element of kitsch. And it's tough to pick a favourite; the art is so realistic it could well be a real photograph that's been blown-up. The first artwork by BAP was a poster of the 1953 film Anarkali on Chapel Road. It was followed by a Amitabh Bachchan mural straight out of Deewar, a Rajesh Khanna close-up on the adjacent wall and many more.

Wah! Bollywood
If you don't look hard enough, you just might miss this tiny eatery nestled comfortably opposite the sea at Carter Road. Adorned with larger than life posters of Bollywood movies and actors, the theme of this place is self-evident.

The place has a strict Bollywood-only music policy and a heady karaoke playing consistently in the backdrop with the songs projected on a big screen. In what is a double treat for film buffs, the place offers a wide platter to tantalise your taste buds - from Italian to Indian to Chinese flavours.

Pics/Satyajit Desai

T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
Mumbai and Bollywood are as inseparable as a pair of Siamese twins. No wonder then that Hindi films are so deeply ingrained in the city's collective consciousness.

And when the new terminal of the city airport was being designed to host the "world's largest public art show", how could the Bollywood influence be far behind? Be it Amitabh Bachchan's angry young man avatar or Shah Rukh Khan's Devdas persona, one of the 28 sections at Terminal 2 or T2 screams Bollywood in all its glory.

Pics/Sayed Sameer Abedi

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