A mini-museum of Bollywood posters
A store in Hauz Khas Village has kept the essence of Bollywood’s bygone era intact through vintage posters, vinyl records and photographs — some of which belong to 1930s and 1940s
For many a Delhiites, Hauz Kaus Village is the go-to place for socialising and clubbing. But not many would know that here lies a treasure trove of good old Bollywood film posters, vinyl records and everything that still holds charm of the bygone era — a visual arts shop called All Arts. The place can entice any passer-by with its recherché handpainted posters of Bollywood blockbusters. The store also has catered to popular faces such as Bollywood actor Vidya Balan. “She has been to the store once and bought a tray,” informs Deepak Jain, who has been running this minimuseum of Bollywood posters since 2005 out of sheer obstinacy, despite getting only a handful of regular customers. “The younger generation doesn’t have a sense of buying or keeping these posters and vinyls. Rather, they buy for those who have witnessed the era,” says Jain. While scrupulously showing the numerous music records of films, Jain informs he also has memorabilia dating back to the ’40s and ’50s. He says, “Most of the posters have been lost.” He feels those who care for these posters, especially from the younger generation should make an effort to revive the interest. Otherwise, these posters, especially the ones belonging to the ’30s and’40s, will be lost.
“I used to run this shop out of passion initially but then the customers started demanding more. That made me interested in continuing,” he adds. The shop also has some old manuscripts dating back to the British era. “The business actually started with books and some printed documents and then people started demanding more. It’s very hard to maintain these original items due to climate conditions of India. It will be hard to find the original posters as they do not make them anymore, and they will not be there in the archives either. Even the [national] film archives might not have them anymore, and whatever are left might be in a very poor condition,” he adds.
People who frequent the store, prefer posters of Amitabh Bachchan’s movies. People often come from Japan and ask for posters of cult films such as Sholay and Mother India
DEEPAK JAIN, OWNER