Dayar-e-Madina (Place of Medina), 1975
Set of 2 Showcards, c. 1975, 35.5cm X 72cm
Screen-printed images and printed lettering on paper mounted on board.
This Muslim social drama centres on two sisters who are separated as children, only to be reunited as adults who fall in love with the same man, Yusuf. Family duty wins out over emotional love for one sister, who is already promised in marriage to a family friend and so must allow her sister to pursue Yusuf instead. The darkly-coloured film advertisement focuses on the title and credits of the film, which take up two-thirds of the showcard. Note that the green lettering of the title in Hindi and in Urdu uses a colour that is sacred to Islam, and the Urdu letters are also arranged in the shape of a domed mosque.
The film Dayar-e-Madina (1975) was produced by S. A. Mehmood and directed by A. Shamsher. Music by Mohammed Shafi. Colour, Hindi, starring Hina Kauser, Imtiaz Hussain and Tabrez.
--Text by Dr. Deepali Dewan and Alexandra McCarter, based on Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011. Copyright of and reproduced here with the generous permission of the Royal Ontario Museum.
Literature
Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011, p. 104, Cat. no. 52.