Posters speak a lot about a film. A good poster unfailingly generates curiosity about a particular movie. Posters play an important role in marketing a film on print – be it in newspapers, billboards or on walls. However, the importance of posters is waning with the dominance of internet marketing in the present day.

Nowadays, it’s a film’s trailer which plays a key role in pulling the audience to theatres. But posters still remain crucial as they represent the entire film in just a still!

Let’s have a look at the nominations for Bollywood’s best posters which released in 2016. Do not forget to Vote!

Airlift

Airlift poter
Airlift poter

The film is based on a true story of a Kuwait-based Indian businessman who risked his life to help in the mass evacuation of Indians stranded in Kuwait during an invasion of Iraq in 1990. The poster shows Akshay Kumar standing in the backdrop of a burning car and a tank. There is a fighter jet flying above, covering the smoky sky. The poster paints the perfect image of a war situation. Akshay’s face portrays grit and determination. The poster reads, ‘1,70,000 refugees, 488 flights, 59 days, 1 man’ and with this, it beautifully sums up the story of the film.

Ki and Ka

Ki and Ka poster
Ki and Ka poster

Ki and Ka is the story of a married couple with a role reversal, where the wife earns money to run the household and the husband is the homemaker. A unique concept indeed! The film sends a very strong message on gender equality in the present time and so does the poster, which reads, ‘Stree-ling Pu-ling same thing!’ (Male gender and female gender is the same thing). The poster shows Kareena Kapoor Khan tying a mangal sutra around her husband, Arjun Kapoor’s neck, which hints at the couple’s role reversal.

Fan

Fan poster
Fan poster

The poster of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Fan shows two angry faces—one belonging to Bollywood superstar Aryan Khanna and the other belonging to his lookalike Gaurav, who is Aryan’s obsessive fan. The story involves a clash between the two after Gaurav tarnishes the superstar’s reputation with his misdeeds. By showing the two angry faces, the poster perfectly summarizes the plot. It also weaves curiosity by showing Aryan chasing Gaurav on a motorbike!

Housefull 3

Housefull 3 poster
Housefull 3 poster

The third installment in the Housefull franchise, Housefull 3 is a comedy film about three hot daughters of a rich, crazy NRI and their boyfriends. There is nothing comical about the poster though, which shows the three actresses Jacqueline Fernandez, Lisa Haydon and Nargis Fakhri standing with the actors who play their boyfriends, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Riteish Deshmukh. Everybody has a different expression on their face.

Sultan

Sultan poster
Sultan poster

Sports drama Sultan revolves around the life of an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler from Haryana, Sultan Ali Khan (Salman Khan) and his wrestler wife Aarfa (Anushka Sharma). Why Sultan quits wrestling and how he makes a comeback form an integral part of the film. The poster offers glimpses from various stages of the wrestler’s life.

Rustom

Rustom poster
Rustom poster

Akshay Kumar starrer Rustom is inspired by the famous case of K M Nanavati vs the State of Maharashtra (1959), which led to the abolishment of the jury system in India. In the film, Naval Commander Rustom Pavri, accused of murdering his wife’s lover with three gunshots, was declared as not guilty by a jury. The poster has Rustom’s eyes covered by his uniform cap, thus hiding his expression and creating a veil of mystery. There are newspaper reports related to the case in the background and Rustom’s wife Cynthia (Ileana D’Cruz) in an intimate position with another man. The poster is undoubtedly gripping!

Shivaay

Shivaay poster
Shivaay poster

The film traces a Himalayan mountaineer, Shivaay’s (Ajay Devgn) journey to Bulgaria in search of his estranged lover. In the process, he rescues his own daughter from child traffickers. The poster shows Shivaay and his daughter Gaura (Abigail Eames) running to save themselves from an avalanche. The film released just before Diwali and the poster reads, ‘This Diwali…there will be destruction’.

Dangal

Dangal poster
Dangal poster

Sports drama Dangal is based on the life of two wrestler sisters– India’s first gold medal winning wrestler (Commonwealth Games 2010) Geeta Phogat and her sister Babita. Aamir Khan essays the role of their father cum coach Mahavir Singh Phogat. The poster shows Aamir sitting with young Geeta and Babita on his right, while grown up Geeta and Babita are standing to his left. The film is a tight slap on the face of gender-based discrimination which is nakedly prevalent in India till date. The poster reads a dialogue from the film, ‘Mhari chhodiyan chhodon se kam hai ke?’ which translates to ‘Are our girls any less than boys?’

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