Indian Hippy gets award-winning Bollywood poster artists to recreate the glory of hand-painted film posters on chairs, bags, wallets and belts

Indian Hippy gets award-winning Bollywood poster artists to recreate the glory of hand-painted film posters on chairs, bags, wallets and belts

Scare away a pickpocket with four of the most menacing filmi villains, the next time you whip out your wallet. There's a lot you can do with Indian Hippy's Bollywood-inspired kitsch product range that's a sure-fire conversation starter. Khar-based entrepreneur Hinesh Jethwani has teamed up with award-winning Bollywood poster artists to create funky but durable products that you'd love to flaunt.

The collection includes bags, wallets, belts and chairs decorated with images from Hindi cinema. The wallets portray today's superstars, heartthrobs from decades gone by, the hottest item girls, retro divas, baddies, comedians and of course, "King Rajni" (each priced at Rs 2,300). The clutch you carry to a cocktail party could portray a sensual romantic moment between Salim and Anarkali (Rs 2,300) or a face off between a ready-for-battle Akbar and the demure Jodha (Rs 1,840).

The low wooden chairs (priced at Rs 5,060 and Rs 5,980) carry portraits from Mughal-e-Azam and Jodhaa Akbar. Our favourite from the Bollywood collection that Indian Hippy has to offer is the Poster Mash Up belt (Rs 2,300) that sports film credits and dialogues from films Sholay, Karz and Don.

For those who like the kitschy style but are not quite into Bollywood retro art, Indian Hippy also has a collection of wallets inspired by international icons. There are wallets featuring Michael Jackson, soccer heroes, rock legends, and one that juxtaposes Sholay's Gabbar Singh with Che Guevara (all priced at Rs 2,300). If you are a big Obama fan, rest a while on a chair with the Nobel Prize winner's portrait on it.

Customised products: Indian Hippy offers you the choice of customising products with your own pictures. So you could get a chair, bag or wallet with your portrait painted in filmi poster style. The guys at Indian Hippy can also paint a customised film poster with the faces of the lead characters replaced by yours.

Who are the artists? The team includes poster artists who were in business before the digital era took over. While the artists are now painting on a different medium, Hinesh promises that they achieve near-100% likeness. "They are used to painting on large canvasses, so this is a different deal. But they paint to scale, and with their technique, you can never go wrong."

To order: Log on to www.hippy.in

Go Kamathipura
Last one standing
Alfred Talkies in Kamathipura is the only theatre that still uses hand-painted posters for outdoor publicity. The poster artists were left with no jobs when in 1992, the industry formally announced that it would stop using hand-painted posters, and go digital.

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