Art show, book, posters for Big B's 70th birthday

Seventy art works, one inspiration - Amitabh Bachchan. For the megastar's 70th birthday celebrations, leading artists have created their interpretations of the entertainer on the canvas for a special exhibition.

A coffee table book on the art works will also be launched at the venue, which will even host an exhibition of 35 vintage posters of the actor's movies, collected by film historian S.M.M.Ausaja over the years.

Amitabh, who has dedicated four decades of his life to showbiz, turns 70 Oct 11.

The art show, called B Seventy and curated by Sapna Kar, will be held at the Hall of Vision, Nehru Centre, Mumbai Oct 12 and Oct 13.

The art works include modern and contemporary art, sculptures, photography, mixed media and even an installation by names like Akbar Padamsee, Anjolie Ela Menon, Satish Gujral, Badri Narayan , Gieve Patel, Manu Parekh, Paresh Maity, Jayasri Burman, Arzan Khambatta, Farhad Hussain, Satish Gupta, Sujata Bajaj and Praneet Soi.

Part proceeds from the sale of these artworks will be donated via NGO Plan India for the cause of quality education for the girl child.

The art works will also be documented in an elegant coffee table book, which has been produced for the occasion. Each artist's thoughts behind their artwork have also been captured in this book.

The book and the art show have been jointly conceptualised by Amitabh's wife, Jaya Bachchan and ad guru Piyush Pandey.

"Each piece of art that you will see in this book, is a tribute to Mr. Bachchan by some of the great artists of India. Each piece of art carries a little bit of their heart. Each unfurls a layer of the multi-layered personality of Mr. Bachchan," Pandey said in a statement.

A select preview for art lovers and collectors has been organised Oct 11 at the same venue. This will be inaugurated by Kokilaben Ambani.

The exhibition will also feature a display or rare original posters of Amitabh's old movies by film historian S.M.M.Ausaja.

"I will be putting up 35 of his rare posters at the exhibit. From 'Reshma Aur Shera' to 'Don' and 'Trishul', hand-painted, original posters of all these films will be on display," Ausaja told IANS.

"The latest poster would be of 1991 film 'Ajooba'," added the historian, whose book "Bollywood In Posters" has a foreward written by Big B.