Review: The Art of Bollywood by Paul Duncan

The Art of Bollywood by Paul Duncan

The Art of Bollywood
by Paul Duncan
Published by Taschen – www.taschen.com

There are many books on Bollywood art, but for the most part and in my opinion, the majority are simple eye-candy catalogues with the only difference between one book and the other being the order of the images or size of the book and they seldom delve deeper than the colorful surface. The Art of Bollywood is different though, showing the hand painted artworks (somewhat) chronologically and/or grouped by artist and investigating the history and artistry further without becoming academic. You see the influences from comic books, advertising, collage, calendars, studio photography, religion, art nouveau and more, and how and why styles changed as the film industry grew in the 20s through the Golden Age of the ‘50s and ‘60s and into the B-movie and Pop ‘70s. It’s fascinating to have your eyes understand the inspirations of the visual language. Also included are archival photos of street promotion, such as ox-pulled parade-like floats, massive cinema displays, and artist-in-the-studio photos. And being a Taschen title the reproduction is beautiful with vivid colors and details. There has yet to be a Bollywood Art bible – like The Tricontinental Solidarity Poster published by comedia-Verlag that, in this writer’s opinion, is to OSPAAL – but this is a great start for Bollywood art.

The Art of Bollywood by Paul Duncan