Rajkamal Arts set to fade into history

The last of Rajkamal Arts’ work — 46-ft-tall cutout of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi — seems already up near Mekhri Circle. For Rajkamal Arts, the only company that still paints lifesize images of actors and famous personalities, is shutting up shop.

In the era of multiplexes and digital posters, photographers and graphic designers are flourishing with their 3D and digital images. But 76-year-old Chinappa, owner of Rajkamal Arts, continues to do what he knows best – painting with brush. Chinappa says: “It took us four days to paint and make Modi’s cutout.” But the company, he added, is not going to last beyond two months. 

Since the time he started training under his Guru Sri Sheenu at the age of 10, Chinappa knew painting was the only source to make a living. 

“My son and I have been struggling for the past seven years in this industry, my company being the only one that continues to paint film posters. There used to be a time when I had no time for anything else but work. Day in and day out, paintings were produced for film distributors and producers,” recalls Chinappa. 

After leaving school in 1947, Chinappa picked his brush to embark on a colourful career. The company, started in 1967, flourished well in the ’80s and ‘90s. 

“Paintings, cutouts and banners cannot possibly find a place in today’s market.

 Everything is computerised and fast, so why will people waste money?” said Gopalakrishna, Chinappa’s son.

Rajkamal Arts had about 23 regular painters with the company since its inception but have left in the recent past. 

“Some are working at temples, doing artwork and paintings; some are with the corporation, doing murals in the City. For lack of standard income, three of my workers left the profession and are working as security guards. We were unable to provide for them and hence could not retain them,” said Gopalakrishna. 

In his 66-year-old career, Chinappa has painted images of everyone from Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Rajkumar and Rajnikanth to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone (for Rambo). He has produced posters for over 4,000 movies including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and English, apart from Kannada. 

“Once, while working for Hindi film, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, distributors told me that if the film managed to have its silver jubilee celebrations, they will pay me double the money. They kept their word and I still remember how the film went viral in the country,” said Chinappa. 

Chinappa has been a recipient of the prestigious Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award and Amrita Mahotsava Award amongst numerous others. 

“In spite of being recognised by the Central government for his work, my father is yet to get any recognition from Karnataka,” said Gopalakrishna.

Once the company shuts down, Chinappa and his son will solely make a livelihood by selling the paintings they make. 

“We have an art gallery where all our paintings are kept. Hopefully, those will help us sustain,” Gopalakrishna added.