The 9 Emotions of Indian Cinema Hoardings

The Erotic. The Valorous. The Furious. The Terror-stricken. The Pathetic. The Comic. The Disgusting. The Marvelous. The Peaceful.

According to the Natyashastra , a second-century Indian theory of aesthetics, there is a spectrum of nine emotions that superior works of art should evoke. This book picks each of the emotions apart, exploding them into their modern Tamil cinema billboards, or hoardings, as they are popularly known.

A team of hoarding artists from Chennai’s Kollywood movie industry have created monumental paintings expressing each of the nine emotions in their own inimitable style. For the initiated, insightful essays illuminate the intersection of culture, commerce, and politics.