Madhubala's Anarkali, Hema Malini's Basanti in recreation of Raja Ravi Verma's classic

Chances are, an overwhelming number of youngsters of the Splitsvilla generation know Madhubala as the pretty face on expensive silk cushion covers labelled ‘quirky’ by websites selling them. The product design revolution that India witnessed in the last few years, brought Bollywood of yore back from the dead and saw everyone from Raj Kapoor and Amjad Khan to Madhubala to Meena Kumari being plastered on jewellery boxes, tee shirts, beer mugs and other everyday household commodities, making them funky.

With with design geniuses rediscovering old Bollywood, the country also found the paraphernalia surrounding old Bollywood back. So we started hunting for a print of an old hand-painted poster, old lobby cards etc.

Bollywood, nostalgia and art is now widely appreciated combination.

Artist Greg Fernandes has joined the league of several other artists, illustrators and designers who have found interesting new ways to explore India’s obsession with Bollywood through art. He has decided to do so by reproducing a renowned Raja Ravi Verma painting and replacing the characters in it with Bollywood leading ladies from across years. The painting in question is A Galaxy of Musicians.

The original painting by Varma has 11 women from different parts of India, sitting together with a bunch of musical instruments. In an attempt to pay a tribute to pop culture and Hindi cinema, Fernandes’ version, uploaded on his Facebook page, Artbygregfernandes, brings together women legends of Indian cinema are placed in a similar fashion as Verma’s original.

We have seen Bollywood’s heros being iconised in pop culture, be it the Angry Young Man or the Romance King. But rarely do we see tributes to our Bollywood heroines.

From Sridevi, Nargis and Hema Malini to Madhuri Dixit, Rekha and Kajol, these Hindi film actresses can be spotted in their most iconic characters from films like Sadma, Mother India and Sholay in the painting.

He also does a version of these actresses sitting in a sunny mustard field, in true 90s style. The caricatures are taken from famous hindi songs: Juhi Chawla in Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Twinkle Khanna in Mela and Raveena Tandon in Mohra, among others.

Fernandes has two international versions on his page as well. One featuring Chinese actresses such as Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li and another American black and white version featuring classic actresses Marilyn Monroe, Ingrid Bergman and Audrey Hepburn.

American Classic actresses. Taken from Greg Fernandes’ Facebook page.

Verma’s original painting is currently on display in a Mysore museum. “India’s first movie Raja Harishchandra opens with scene of tableaux patterned on the painting by Varma. Hence, I thought it would be fitting to pay a tribute to Varma and Bollywood combined,” said Fernandes to Buzzfeed India.