BIG Cinemas' Bollywood pop art make-over The result: interiors full of Bollywood-Hollywood-Mumbai-inspired pop art, spread from the box-office’s glass doors and the gangway towards the lift to the interiors and exteriors of the lifts and eventually the common floor that houses the four screens.

1. Mumbai’s Sangam Cinema
Hall promotes Pop art

9. A
ndheri's Sangam Big cine-
mas can boast of a unique
identity with reference to
its adaptation of pop art
for its interiors, a first ever space to
be seen in India. Designed by Jayesh
Sachdev, the cinema's striking interi-
ors are one of a kind in Mumbai and
also cater to contemporary culture.
The genre of pop art amalgamated
with contemporary art to create a
cinema space that was exclusive in
nature, was the main inspiration be-
hind its conceptualisation.
THE PARAMETERS OF POP ART
Pop art, as the name suggests is in-
spired by the zeitgeist and popular
culture of the time. A movement of its
own, this art form began in the 1950s
but gained momentum in the 1970s
with the likes of Andy Warhol. It in-
corporates elements like cinema to
everyday items like commodities and
consumer goods. For a nation like In-
dia, the obsession is synonymous with
the generation and is more Bollywood-
centric and cricket oriented. In local
context, Bollywood is popular culture
as much as Amul butter or Maggi noo-
dles are. Pop culture can also be bor-
rowed from mass culture such as icon-
ic figures, comic books and advertis-
ing with an aim to project art as pop-
ulist as opposed to elitist.
THE SHEER GENIUS OF THE
ARTIST
Jayesh Sachdev, a designer graduate
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04culturecults LOKHANDWALA WAS THE FIRST AREA TO BOAST OF
THEMED RESTAURANTS IN THE SUBURBS
SANGAM BIG
CINEMAS IS
INDIA'S FIRST
POP ART-
INSPIRED
CINEMA SPACE
BY ARTIST
JAYESH
SACHDEV FROM
PUNE, FINDS
PURVI THACKER
KIND
OF A has had no formal training in art and
his work at Big Cinema's is acclaimed
for it defies all conforms of art cul-
ture. Largely influenced by graphic
styles, vibrant colours and texture,
Jayesh has embedded the inescapable
ingredient of Bollywood in his design
space. With his theory in place and
strong visual sense Jayesh tried to
create an experience out of the arts,
by using this appeal of everyday life
to enhance his works.
"Bollywood is multilayered — it has
features of emotion, comedy, drama,
action, dance and song. Inspired by
these many facets, I have created a se-
ries of large 30 feet works that resem-
ble a jigsaw so all elements are incor-
porated. Somewhat cryptic, my style
encourages a volume of interaction so
that the audience can soak in different
levels of the hidden art,” he explains
with reference to his featured work in
Big Cinemas.
A blend of different art and design
techniques, Sachdev has deviated
from using basic paint and has inte-
grated water colour renditions, pen
and ink, acrylic, oils, pencil doodles,
Bollywood posters and digital art for
his work.
FUTURE OF POP ART
Sachdev's prints adorning the spaces
Big Cinemas are an inspiration as
many other cinemas are following lead
and will be doing the same. Some of his
prints will be replicated in spaces like
lobbies and elevators, while in other
cities in India, there will be newer
works. Explains, Head of Design and
Brand Experience at Reliance Enter-
tainment, Archana Jhangian, "It must
be pop that we dispaly and we have tak-
en several big cinemas under the Big
Cinema's wing with a hope of using
this medium worldwide. There is no
one befitting that artist Jayesh Sachdev
for his works for Bollywood Walk of
Fame and personal exhibitions
worldwide have earned him
international accolades."
purvi.thacker@timesgroup.com
ARTOF AART