Lanes of nostalgia: Hauz Khas Village presents handmade posters from the yesteryear

If you are a movie buff and have a yen for the works of the 50s and the 60s, and all things old in general, a visit to this place in Delhi’s upmarket Hauz Khas is certain to drive you nostalgic. Old Bollywood posters from 1950 onward, iconic Ravi Verma works, aged maps, lithographs and antique books, you name it, the past is there before you at All Art.

They sell printed posters that start from a price range of Rs 500 and goes up to Rs 3,000, depending upon the work and the actors on the posters. The shop has a collection of hand-made movie and show cards. These are priced at Rs 2,000 onward.

“Old movie posters are still sought after by many Bollywood fans at a time when the art of handmade posters has almsot disappeared, replaced by their printed versions. The posters with versatile actors like Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan and of films such as Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay are best sellers. The customer base of such posters include Indians as well as foreigners,” the shop owner Deepak Jain told Firstpost.

“Other popular posters include that of James Bond and Charlie Chaplin. The posters available here are 30 by 40 inches and banner size. In addition, foreign customers are also like lithographs. They are fascinated with its attractive colours,” he added.

Although the USP of All Arts is Bollywood posters, it is now concentrating on antique calendar art.

A Delhi University Commerce graduate Jain, who owns the shop, says his family has more than a passing interest in art and has been dealing with antique books since 1961.

Describing how the idea of entering into art business came in his mind, he said, “My father had a shop of antique books. I used to see people walking into the shop looking for old movie and political posters produced by obscure 19th century presses. I found there is a renewed interest in this kind of material.”

Asked how people’s interest in art galleries suddenly grew, he explained, “Collection of rare posters, books and maps has become a fashion these days. Earlier, the interest in arts used to belong to rich people but nowadays, it has become a general social activity.”

“As the market is growing, the art business is attracting more and more. Huge investments are being made and large number of art galleries is coming with each passing day,” he observed.