From Tokyo to Paris, Air India’s Maharaja has seen and done it all
From being a lifeguard in Sydney to a can-can dancer in Paris, the national airline’s mascot has been around forever and hold a special place in the hearts of people
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After 68 long years, Air India finally made its way back to the Tata group. People were overjoyed and old posters of Air India, featuring the Maharaja, Air India’s jovial and rotund mascot, suddenly flooded social media groups. Ironically, the Maharaja, isn’t a blue-blooded royal, as per S K (Bobby) Kooka, who conceived the idea of him and later sketched by Umesh Rao, an artist at J Walter Thompson in Bombay. Image Courtesy: Image Courtesy: Air India on Imgur
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Air India’s Maharaja, probably India’s most recognisable mascot, has travelled the world and through the posters depicting him in quirky avatars helped the airline’s branding. Image Courtesy: Air India on Imgur
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The Maharajah came dressed in various garbs and as the ‘retro collection’ showed him travelling across the world, doing quirky and funny things. In this poster, he’s seen travelling to the Middle East and purchasing, unsurprisingly, carpets. Image Courtesy: Air India on Imgur
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The Maharajah came dressed in various garbs and as the ‘retro collection’ showed him travelling across the world, doing quirky and funny things. In this poster, he’s seen travelling to the Middle East and purchasing, unsurprisingly, carpets. Image Courtesy: Air India on Imgur
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The years passed by and new airlines emerged, but the one constant in our lives was the Maharaja with his moustache and jovial nature. However, in 2017, the iconic mascot seemed to have lost a little bit of his weight and traded in his traditional attire for blue jeans. The move at the time didn’t go down too well, with many criticising the change. Image Courtesy: Air India on Imgur
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These simple, yet powerful posters gave the national carrier its international identity and also won numerous national and international awards for originality in advertising and publicity. Image Courtesy: AirIndia.in
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Surprisingly, in 1989 Air India moved away from the Maharaja icon as some politicians dubbed the mascot to be having regal connotations and not in sync with the people’s aspirations. But a huge hue and cry was created and thankfully, the nation got back their ‘Maharaja’. Image Courtesy: AirIndia.in
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