Top 5

100 years of Indian cinema: Top 50 hand-painted Bollywood posters

A hundred years ago when Dhundiraj Govind Phalke organised the first public screening of his film Raja Harishchandra, the publicity posters didn't have any images on them, but that changed soon after. A film's publicity poster also became an extension of the creativity expressed on celluloid and able artists highlighted those selected images from the movie that could draw the audiences to inside the dark theatres for more than two-hours of cinematic mesmerisation.

With time and the advance of technology photographs replaced hand-drawn images on film posters, but somehow photographs seemed to take the fun out of the Bollywood posters. They seemed best hand painted, where the painter did what plastic surgeons failed to, even though nowadays Photoshop is able to replicate much of that. Sometimes the actors are barely recognisable in their hand-drawn avatars and the heroines usually have their curves accentuated. Also some over-imaginative poster artists draw appealing scenes, that to the disappointment of the paying public are not replicated on the big screen.

Hand-drawn posters are a rarity now, only an occasional film uses the style for effect. Here are 50 of the best hand-painted posters that Bollywood had produced since its inception. A salute to an aspect of the art of Indian cinema as it completes a hundred years of its existence.

If you think some other poster deserves to be on this list, let us know in the comments....more

06:25 AM, May 03, 2013

Top 5: Free Android photography apps

by Ankit Tuteja,IBNLive.com

New Delhi: In this age of camera phones, capturing those memorable moments is not a big deal. And there are these amazing apps that make those captured moments even more memorable. We raked through the photography apps on Google Play, tested them to come with our hand-picked list of the five must-haves of the lot. 1. Pixlr-o-matic Size: 6.6MB Rating: 4/5 Why to install this app: I find it to...

01:11 PM, Aug 06, 2012

Top 5 action games on Android

by Rahul Gupta,The Mobile Indian

Love action games? Then here are five games you must have on your Android. With devices getting smarter and processors getting faster, gaming has turned out to be a bigger, more prominent avenue of interest for smartphone owners. And not just simple gaming like in the olden days - today smartphones offer detailed graphics, immersive sound and realistic controls, aided by devices like Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, and Sony Tablet...

03:28 PM, Feb 26, 2012

In pics: 50 ultimate horror films to see before you die

A compilation of the 50 best horror films of all time. How many have you seen?Antichrist: A grieving couple retreats to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse. Director: Lars von Trier

A teenage girl and her father discover alien clones are replacing humans on a remote US military base in Alabama. Director: Abel Ferrara.

A Tale of Two Sisters is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film written and directed by Kim Ji-woon. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale.

03:23 PM, Jan 13, 2012

Eating out? A list of world's top 50 restaurants

by Reuters

Danish restaurant Noma in Copenhagen was crowned the world's best restaurant for the second year in a row in an annual list, beating out top eateries in Spain, Italy, Britain, the United States and elsewhere. Following is a full list of the top 50, as chosen at the S Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants awards, produced by Britain's Restaurant Magazine. 1. Noma, Denmark (www.noma.dk) 2. El Celler de Can Roca,...

01:04 PM, Apr 20, 2011