Mumbai: With every new release, you get to know the actor, director and music guys involved with the film but have you ever wondered who designs the posters of the film?
Have you ever looked at a film poster and given it some serious thought? Why a particular font or colours are used in the poster?
It may sound frivolous but for Rajeev Chudasama it is serious business. Rajeev designed some of the best film publicity campaigns in recent times for films like Om Shanti Om, Johnny Gaddar and Mithya.
After scoring just three out of 150 in his 12th class maths exam, Rajeev realised he understood arts better than numbers.
Now the man is busy designing the design for Shah Rukh Khan's Indian Premier League cricket team. The 34-year-old Rajeev did his graduation in applied arts and started his career as a visualiser in an advertising agency.
It was in 2001 that he started his own company Marching Ants to design the publicity campaign for films, something that was unheard of in Bollywood.
"Lot of people used to give me reasons for not liking a design with saying that ye maza nahi aa raha hai (It's not good). I would say please be little more specific because if I have to go back and cater to a problem and if you don't tell me what the problem is, I would not be able to solve it. And I would give 10 reasons for why it works. If you can beat that, I will definitely change it," Rajeev says.
Rajeev got his big break with Ek Haseena Thi as the posters created a lot of curiosity about the film.
He followed it up with films like Vastu Shastra, Paap, Naach, Lakshya, Musafir and many more, all with a distinct look that created a lasting impression.
Last year, Om Shanti Om and Johnny Gaddar's retro look got eyeballs but with Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag, he got a lot of flak.
In fact he designed the look of the new Gabbar but admits he missed something.
"I didn't make strict guidelines in how you should be portraying Gabbar. I should have put clear dos and don't like you should never put out Gabbar in broad daylight for example, the minute you bring him out in broad daylight, sitting on a table and dangling his legs, that Gabbar Singh has lost the plot," Rajeev says.
Six years in the business, Rajeev has moved from designing publicity campaigns to production design of films, and from designing the look of the characters to giving a new meaning to calendar design.
"Very few people think and believe that it's a very, very creative and important part of the film and even today I would give my right arm to do stuff like that but no, people don't see this as creative and good opportunity the way Hollywood sees it," he says.
And if you are wondering how a single poster can say everything that a filmmaker wants to say in three hours, then listen to this.
"The logo design of the film is extremely important. Then second is you should have single mind proposition. In one poster I could not be telling you five things. Either I tell you one and may be any more, or then it's brilliant. And aesthetics. If I like what I see, then I will remember it," he adds
Babban may have bombed but Big B has been recommending Rajeev's name to many.
Next in the pipeline is Bhootnath, The Last Lear, Fashion and Acid Factory. And then coming up soon is Rajeev's directorial debut. We surely will be looking out for that one.
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