Cinema...Its something that inspires and amuses. Its an entity that is representative of this country like no other. In its elaborate tapestry are people and places that youve only dreamt of. On the big screen, in this part of the world, cinema is an extension of your subconscious. The realm of adjectives and the written word offer so many ways to express what we think of cinema, however, it doesnt take away the power of a picture. Cinema is a visual art. It needs the viewer to see and experience a picture. It needs the viewer to be drawn in by the image and perceive it. The first step in this whole process is making the poster a pictorial summation of 3hours worth of plot, narrative and twists and turns. Posters have evolved from being kitschy representations of matinee idols. Posters tell their own tales of beauty and romance. They bring to the viewer an element of intrigue. Today, a poster carries everything from elaborate fonts to beautifully shot photographs. A poster is more than just a summary. A poster is, thanks to the people behind it, an art unto itself.
I was like any other child of my times, bitten by the movie bug and trying to get hold of any aspect of this mesmerizing world. My little excursions with my school friends on my way back from school saw me staring at the colorful posters that adorned the walls of the otherwise forgotten lanes. I often stood there mesmerized with the vibrant colours in the posters and the images of my matinee icons. I developed a fierce hunger and craving to be part of this magnificent world of movies. My passion for colours saw me getting into fine arts as a student and later into graphic designs. Movies always beckoned me and I found myself drawn to this dream world, a phase of my life that led me to Ace Cinematographer Director Santosh Sivan. He became my encyclopedia for movies and on a personal level, a friend philosopher and guide. It is while working with him as an assistant that I realized the intricacies of light, the beauty of the colour black and all the subtle qualities that made a film/picture great. The beauty of my movie journey is also the fact that my flirtations with the various aspects of movie making, has still not taken me away from my first love-Posters. I never considered posters as a mere advertising tool, but for me it is a platform through which, I am able to express the movie makers thoughts and fantasies about their piece of art. It helps me create a curiosity and a positive feeling in the minds of the filmgoers about a particular film. I started my poster designing career with a few Hindi films and multilingual art films. It is through the Malayalam movie Pazhassiraja in the year 2009 that I gained immense recognition. Several great offers followed.