Social Innovation
The founder of Mumbai-based Bollywood Art Project speaks about how he attained permissions for some of his most famous works and what inspired some of his cinematic artworks.
Ranjit Dahiya, a Mumbai-based graphic designer, is the founder of Bollywood Art Project, a street art initiative that aims to popularise Hindi cinema through murals on buildings. In a conversation with RedBull.com, Dahiya talks about his initiative, the growing popularity of street art and the challenges of finding the right building for a mural.
How do you decide which building to use for your project?
I just look for the most visible buildings at the most visible places. I get permissions and start painting them. Major factor is how many people can see the building.
And I’m guessing these buildings are on some of Mumbai’s more prominent streets?
Well I stay on Chapel Road [in the Bandra neighbourhood] so I started from there. It was easy to get permissions. It’s also a shortcut road that connects with the Bandra-Worli Sealink.
A particular kind of audience will go to a gallery but on the street, a millionaire can also see the art and so can a beggar. There are no boundaries.
Is it difficult getting permissions for your paintings?
Yes, yes. It’s a big challenge. People think I will earn money by painting on their buildings or that it is some kind of advertisement for something. I tell them that it’s not an advertisement. It’s just my love for Bollywood. There are some people who say yes, but there are also some who say no. So getting permissions is a very big challenge. To convince them, I show them some of my old works and say that I’m doing it because this is the city of Bollywood. Some get convinced. Some don’t.
Do you only paint on private buildings or government-owned buildings as well? I ask because governments can be very strict about these things.
Right now, the government is quite enthusiastic about street art and about making the city beautiful. In Allahabad, during the recent Kumbh Mela, government had proposed painting there. So the current central government is encouraging artists to paint more beautiful things around the city.
Do you only paint in Mumbai? Or have you taken your project to other cities as well?
I’ve painted in Delhi, Chennai, US and France. I go wherever there are Bollywood lovers.
Do you think that people in Mumbai are now more aware/concerned about public art, because of the Bollywood Art Project?
Yes, I think so. When people see the Amitabh Bachchan mural (one of Ranjith’s most famous murasl in Bandra), they do get curious. People do understand that street art is a medium which is accessible to everyone. A particular kind of audience will go to a gallery but on the street, a millionaire can also see the art and so can a beggar. There are no boundaries.
Let’s say you’ve decided to do a mural on a building that’s 10 storeys high. How long would it take you to paint it?
I’ll give you the example of the Amitabh Bachchan painting. That took me 14 days. I actually wanted to finish it in 10 days but the weather wasn’t conducive. Before that I painted a mural of Dadasaheb Phalke in 10 days. If it’s a bigger project it might take some more time. We also have to take into account the weather.
And how do you decide which mural to paint?
I’ve already decided what to paint on which building. Like for example, Pemberton building in Bandra is very tall, and people would call Amitabh Bachchan lambu. So I decided to paint his mural on that building.
And do you have a team working with you?
The Amitabh Bachchan mural was supported by Zee Classic. I got money from them. That’s why it was possible because you need to hire people for that. It depends from project to project, really.
Do you repaint murals once they start fading?
I’d love to repaint some of the older pieces but I haven’t done so yet. I wanted to repaint my murals but my economic condition hasn’t been good enough to do repaints. I asked the public to contribute to the effort, but I didn’t get a good response. Once I’m better off economically, I’ll repaint some of my older pieces.