Putli Bai, 1972
Set of 2 showcards, c. 1972, 44cm X 68cm
Tinted gelatin silver print and poster paint on textured board with screen-printed lettering and hand-lettering.
Putli Bai was a legendary one-armed female bandit who used to attack communities in the Chambal Valley of Uttar Pradesh in the 1950s. This film, made at a time when gangster movies were very popular, is unique because of its focus on the female gangster. The title is written in a cloud of gun smoke, dividing the picture with a tough yet beautiful Putli Bai on the right. In true Bollywood style, the heroine remains a bandit only until she is softened by love. Such roles offered alternatives to the heroine as chaste wife, conflicted modern working girl, or sexually promiscuous Westernized mistress.
The film Putli Bai (1972) was produced by B. K. Adarsh and directed by Ashok Roy. Music by Jay Kumar. Colour, Hindi, starring Jayshree T., Leela Mishra and Satyen Kapoor."
--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. 101, Cat. no. 50.