In Pics: Street artists paint 25ft tall Amitabh Bachchan mural in Goregaon
The mural, titled ‘Salaam-e-Shahenshah’, has come up in Goregaon (Picture: Nilesh)
Noted Pune-based street artist Nilesh has painted a mural of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai’s Goregaon area.
The 15x25ft mural, aptly titled ‘SALAAM-E-SHAHENSHAH’ was painted in collaboration with Sunil K, Vikrant Kini, and Inkstars Studio. It took two days to complete.
“The mural has been painted on the wall of a tattoo parlour right outside Film Studio. The owner was interested in our art and also lend a hand,” Nilesh told Local Press Co.
The artwork also has a poetry inscribed on it, which Nilesh says was written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan and has served as motivation for the thespian throughout his life.
The mural was painted in collaboration with artists Sunil K, Vikrant Kini, and Inskstars Studio (Picture: Mangesh Saundalkar)
“From starting as an inqlaab (revolution) of Bollywood to being a “light that will never die”(Amitabh) of Indian cinema, his life is an inspiration to every aspiring individual. But this inspiration of ours when he was an aspirer like us needed something to motivate him. The poem in the picture written by his father was a constant motivation for him,” Nilesh says.
“If things happen according to how you wish, it’s good. But if they don’t, that’s even better. Because they are happening according to the wish of some divine force. And that divine force will never think ill about you. This is what Mr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan ji told BigB whenever his son was disappointed,” he adds.
Incidentally, this is not Nilesh’s first artwork in Mumbai. He has also collaborated with artist Ranjit Dahiya on the 120ft portrait of Dadasaheb Phalke on the MTNL building in Bandra, which has the reputation of being the largest mural in Asia.
The inspiration for the actor’s mural came after Nilesh met Sr. Bachchan in person when the latter had come to inaugurate Dadasaheb Phalke’s mural in 2014.
The Amitabh Bachchan mural took 2 days to complete (Picture: Mangesh Saundalkar)
Some of his other notable artworks include 230x25ft facade of the Dhanapur railway station which pays tribute to Indian mathematician Aryabhatta, Ganesh mural on a public parking building in Pune marking 125 years of Ganeshotsav, Arjanghar Metro Station in New Delhi and a Kumari mural on the wall of Zostel in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Drawn towards socially driven subjects like terrorism, global warming etc, Nilesh’s artwork has adorned numerous public locations across India and abroad.
The 33-year-old has been actively pursuing his passion for painting for the better part of his life. His early work includes realistic and figurative compositions where he made a mark in producing water-colour textures and patterns.
Nilesh’s other artworks can be found on his Instagram account.
*SALAAM-E-SHAHENSHAH* The poem in the picture written by his father was a constant motivation for him.
This is what Mr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan ji told BigB whenever his son was disappointed
कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,
कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती.. pic.twitter.com/pmULblw3hg— nileshartist (@artistnilesh) August 1, 2018
