She rose to fame as a Bollywood painter with a painting of Shah Rukh Khan inspired by his character in Asoka. Anjanna Kuthiala, a former Miss India, who has painted several Bollywood stars including Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar, is out with another collection, “The Complete Indian Experience — recreating 60’s & 70’s era”, inspired by the life and times of actor Shammi Kapoor.
Anjanna, who usually paints women and is fascinated by everything feminine, is awestruck only by a few men. It was Shah Rukh’s character in Asoka that caught her attention and now it’s legendary Shammi Kapoor.
Anjanna says she has always liked Shammi, right from her childhood days. “In my formative years, he was the ultimate superstar. Young boys idolised him, girls had a crush on him. This collection is a my tribute to him. I just feel he didn’t get his due,” says Anjanna, further adding that her paintings showcase the dance styles that are synonymous with Kapoor.
“There has been no better dancer like him. In spite of his weight, he managed to pull off the toughest dance steps with zeal,” she says.
Besides Kapoor, the 13 other paintings in the collection highlight various symbols of 60s and 70s, which according to the artist was a simple and an uncomplicated period. The simplicity is shown in the form of things like dancing around the trees which became customary in Hindi cinema. Anjanna has put a special emphasis on this in her paintings.
“I could not have completed the paintings without the tree. It is a must, especially in the songs that were filmed on Kapoor,” she says.
And if we’re talking about Shammi Kapoor, how can we not mention his leading ladies. Every painting has actresses which closely resemble Sadhna (with fringes) or Sharmila Tagore or Saira Bano (with a bouffant).
“As youngsters, we identified with those styles. For me, it was a beautiful era. The actresses with chunky, gold jewellery or dangling, plastic jewellery looked so elegant. I’ve tried to bring all those elements into the collection,” she concludes.
The exhibition is on at the India Grill, Hilton Garden Inn, Saket till October 10