Hailing from Kolhapur, Gopal Kamble arrived in Bombay in the 1930s to work as a banner painter. Employed by Prabhat studio initially, he was keen to work with V. Shantaram of whom he was an admirer. When Shantaram left Prabhat Studio, Kamble, who was contract-bound to the studio wanted to join him. He did, only a few years later, propelled by a dream. The doyen of film publicity Baburao Painter, whom Kamble happened to meet at Shantaram’s office while waiting for him, too str...ongly advised him to work with Shantaram.
His first assignment for Shantaram was the film ‘Shakuntala’ (1943), for which he painted a 66-foot wide banner that depicted Shakuntala in a forest glade, writing a love letter on a leaf. He was then commissioned by Shantaram to decorate the Swastik Cinema for the film’s release. Kamble writes in an autobiographical note that he ordered for two carts full of lotus flowers, palm leaves, mango branches and entire banana trees, transforming the cinema into Shakuntala’s forest overnight. The ornate display attracted huge crowds of animals that included human beings, alongside birds and bees. Sparrows pecked on the film title that was created entirely out of sacks of chickpeas. His display for ‘Do Aankhen Barah Haath’ (1957) was reportedly 350 feet long and is often mentioned as one of the greatest of his many magnificent accomplishments.
For ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960) it is said he had bought all the Winsor & Newton paints available in every shop of Bombay, and when these ran out, he bought paints from Delhi, Calcutta and Madras. The gargantuan effort that Kamble put into the publicity for Mughal-e-Azam was, however, not to be rewarded. Despite the enormous success of the film, K. Asif was unable to pay the dues to Kamble, thereby worsening the latter’s health and compelling him to move back to Kolhapur. His richly detailed images of religious deities are displayed at Kolhapur’s Kailashgadhchi Svari temple. He also pointed several portraits of political personalities that have been installed at the Mantralaya and Vidhan Bhavan buildings at Mumbai. The street in Kolhapur where he lived is named after him.
Select Filmography -
Posters: Toofan Aur Diya (1956), Do Ankhen Bara Haath (1957), Son of India (1962); Marathi films May Bahini (1952), Maharani Yesubai (1954), Tambdi Maati (1969).
Booklet Art: Subah Ka Tara (1954); Marathi films Shilanganache Sone (1949), Shiva Ramoshi (1951).
Banners: Roti (1942); most of Rajkamal Kalamandir’s productions from 1943 to 1965, including Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Navrang (1959)
Cinema Displays: Shakuntala (1943) at Mumbai’s Swastik Cinema;; Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957) at Opera House; Mughal-e-Azam (1960) at Maratha Mandir.
