Hindi
Exhibition of Bollywood cinema showcards due next month at Ontario
MUMBAI: Presenting a visual journey through the history of Bollywood advertising, the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will unveil Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s from 11 June to 2 October.
The exhibition will be curated by Deepali Dewan for the ICC at the ROM in collaboration with the Hartwick Collection.
Said ROM Director and CEO Janet Carding, “Bollywood Cinema Showcards is a unique opportunity for visitors to see this rare collection of vintage cinematic art, bringing early Bollywood culture and design to life,” “I’m delighted that the ROM is contributing in such as significant way to this year-long celebration of India in Canada and the Bollywood experience in Toronto surrounding the International Indian Film Academy Awards.”
Says Dewan, “This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to explore the evolution of a specific form of advertising associated with the Hindi commercial cinema centered around Mumbai. These show cards combine paint and photography and are a unique aspect of South Asian visual culture, following their equally as remarkable predecessors –Indian Painted Photographs. They were originally produced by local artists but usually thrown out at the end of a film’s run. It is remarkable that this collection has survived at all.”
The exhibition, which coincides with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Toronto, will feature over 120 works including 77 original showcards from the private collection of Angela Hartwick and a selection of posters, lobby cards and film booklets from the ROM’s permanent collection.
It may be noted that Mississauga-based Picture House organised ‘The Art of Bollywood’, an exhibition of hand painted billboards and posters of Indian Cinema is currently on from 12 May to 10 July.
Hindi
Rashmika Mandanna, Shanaya Kapoor and Naila Grrewal climb IMDb’s Indian celebrity rankings
Upcoming films and returning shows are driving fan interest across Bollywood and streaming
MUMBAI: Bollywood’s popularity contest has a new weekly scorecard, and the numbers are telling. IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for this week places Shanaya Kapoor at number six, buoyed by buzz around her film Tu Yaa Main. Naila Grrewal slots in at seven on the back of the returning comedy series Maamla Legal Hai, while Rashmika Mandanna climbs to eighth, riding mounting anticipation for Cocktail 2.
The list, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, tracks trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week, drawing on data from more than 200m monthly visits to the platform worldwide.
Further down the rankings, Raaka is keeping two of its biggest names in the spotlight. Deepika Padukone holds 11th position, with Allu Arjun close behind at 13th, as the film continues to find traction with audiences.
The list offers fans a weekly pulse on who is breaking through, who is holding steady, and who is fading. It is a barometer as unsparing as the box office itself.
