Artist’s canvas celebrates Anarkali, Shah Rukh

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For decades Anarkali’s celluloid existence has captured the imagination of cinegoers and now Anjanna Kuthiala has immortalised the celebrated courtesan through her paintings. Titled “Anarkali Reborn,” Anjanna’s collection explores the different facets of the legendary lover. “Anarkali epitomises feminine beauty. She is the symbol of love and sacrifice, yet I feel she never got her due. Where do you see her kind of love? Only women can have the capacity for a love that surpasses a man’s. Men, perhaps, lack that emotional depth,” she feels.

The artist turns back the pages of history to substantiate her views. “While Prince Salim enjoyed a second lease of life, he was elevated as emperor Jahangir and had marital liaison with Noor Jahan, Anarkali faded into oblivion without a trace. Her love for the Mughal prince was self-destructive and perhaps a lesson for women of all times,” she says. The series is also an attempt to trace the different facets of women — from the demure Anarkali to Goddess Kali, the symbol of power.

“A women’s face always conveys a story, be it of solitude, deceit, contentment or the endless wait. And without sounding immodest, I can say I excel in the art of expressing these varied emotions with the brush strokes,” says the artist who was crowned Miss India in 1975. “I was quite young and madly in love, and didn’t attach much significance to the title. All I was looking forward was to settle down with the person I loved. Though my modelling career didn’t take off, later I rediscovered myself as a painter. Women mostly listen to their hearts calling and thankfully in my case it yielded positive results,” she admits.

In Anjanna’s creative imagination, actor Shah Rukh Khan has sneaked into Anarkali’s life with renewed vigour and together they create an enchanting combination on canvas. “His inherent charisma and her mesmerising beauty certainly blend well,” she adds. In one of her works, Shah Rukh, in his Devdas avatar, sits besides the coy courtesan, flashing his dimpled beam. In another, the slave girl returns to her cinematic facade as Madhubala, lost in a forlorn embrace with her lover. Not quite far, standing alongside couple of veiled women in an Arab oasis, he flashes his famous smile.

Incidentally, Anjanna’s paintings revolve exclusively around feminine figures, but she makes an exception only for King Khan.

“I remember SRK once jokingly told me, ‘I’m beginning to wonder about my masculinity.’ But I feel Shah Rukh’s appeal transcends time and there’s something magical about him. He is truly a global phenomenon and his stardom goes beyond the domain of the cinema. None can surpass his star-appeal. If I start looking for adjectives to describe him, perhaps I will run out of them,” she says admiringly.

A couple of years back she exhibited a collection on the actor. “That series was some kind of a divine intervention. I felt as if God’s

hand artistically brush stroked the canvas. I was simply a tool using my creative license. He is some one who truly deserved to be immortalised and paintings have a life of their own. One of my works from the

SRK series adorns Mannat, his home,” informs the Delhi-based artist.

And Anjanna’s fascination with the Bollywood star continues, “Soon I will showcase my work in Europe and the Gulf countries. I will portray SRK on a global trip exploring his versatility while crossing continents. For instance, in the Middle East he takes the garb of an Arab sheikh while in Europe he reincarnates as the celebrated painter Vincent van Gogh,” she concludes.