Pyar Hua by Usha Shantharam
PYAR HUA. I did this painting inspired by the ageless song ‘Pyar hua, Iqraar Hua’ from the even more ageless movie ‘Shree 420’. The legendary actors Raj Kapoor and Nargis really lit up the audience with their fiery love – which I have symbolized in the background.
This is an acrylic painting on canvas of size: 16×12 inches.
You can listen to this lilting romantic song on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y01uvU0UAoU .
The figures reveal an interesting original style with a wonderful display of light and shadow. With the figures dominating the center of the canvas, I would be even more intrigued if the figures occupied a larger part of the canvas. The umbrella is a great touch. It adds some dominance to the figures over the landscape. The overall color impact is good and cold be enhanced with a little change in the tonal quality of the blue as it receeds from the foreground eliminating some of the detail or contrast. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
I love the colors and the contrast of what seems lovers gazing calmly in each others eyes while the background seems burning. I also like the couple is detailed everything else is soft wash. Interesting execution.
A good illustration for the film shortcut that came along; The peak moment when the two lovers surrender after a little struggle & get finally one under the umbrella ( outstanding what an umbrella can do sometimes..)
The wet urban landscape at dusk gets flouted as it looses its importance in this peculiar moment; You did perfectly summarize the scene into an image/symbol. It would be a perfect poster for the film; Understand it as a compliment. Thanks for posting Usha.
The more I look at this work, the more its gentle ironies become visible, the more I like the old-fashioned, understated romance of its storytelling. The homage the artist pays to the old world school of Bollywood cinema is tender and yet robust, much like the characters themselves. The visual play of colour speaking of Love setting the world aflame creates a visually intriguing ambivalence of surface and fluidity. A lovely work marking a signature tune of a singular time in Bollywood cinematic history. Very engaging work.