Gopi Prasannaa is an Indian graphic designer who has designed many movie posters in the South Indian film industry. His notable works include the graphic novel-style poster for Aaranya Kaandam (2010) and introducing first-look posters with Kaththi (2014). During the COVID-19 lockdown, he gained recognition for the nostalgic series 'Ninaivugalai Thedi'.
Gopi Prasannaa | |
|---|---|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Notable work | Aaranya Kaandam (2010) Kaththi (2014) 96 (2018) Master (2021) |
| Website | gopiprasannaa |
Personal life
editPrasannaa's first film in a theater was Salangai Oli (1983) when he was 6 years old.[1] He was also interested in painting during his childhood.[2] Prasannaa admires movie poster artists like Tom Martin and some Japanese artists. He was inspired from the hand-drawn movie hoardings of Chennai's golden era and Maniyan Selvam's illustrations in Ananda Vikatan magazines during his youth.[3]
Career
edit
Prasannaa initially worked as a programmer, tried his hand in gaming, advertising and branding, before starting a career as a publicity designer.[4][3] His journey in publicity design began with the Tamil film Aaranya Kaandam, directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja in 2010.[4][5] The poster was styled as a graphic novel fully illustrated in yellow and black making it the first of its kind for the Tamil industry.[6] In 2014, Prasannaa introduced the trend of first-look posters in Tamil cinema with the film Kaththi, a social drama directed by AR Murugadoss.[6][7] During the COVID-19 lockdown in India, Prasannaa created a series of retro movie posters for films like Sadma, 16 Vayathinile, Mullum Malarum, Mouna Raagam, Antha 7 Naatkal which are part of the 10-part series.[8][2] The series was named 'Ninaivugalai Thedi', which translates to 'chasing memories'.[1][2] He drew inspiration from the poster of Salangai Oli for the series.[1]
In 2021, the first-look poster of Master, directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, released on New Year's Eve. It quickly went viral on social media and set records.[9]
Selected filmography
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e S, Gowri (2020-06-23). "Designer Gopi Prasannaa creates posters of yesteryear Tamil superhits using retro colour palettes". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ a b c d "Gopi Prasannaa fashions retro posters for classic Tamil films during lockdown". The Times of India. 2020-06-24. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ a b c Bakshi, Jahan Singh (2019-03-27). "Posterphilia: How Gopi Prasannaa Created The 'Super Deluxe' Poster". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ a b c "From Aaranya Kaandam to Sarkar, publicity designer Gopi Prasanna on film posters and their impact in multiplex era". Firstpost. 2018-07-25. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ a b Bakshi, Jahan Singh (2018-12-17). "Posterphilia: The Best Indian Film Posters Of 2018". www.filmcompanion.in. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ a b V,DHNS, Vivek M. "What goes behind the making of a film poster?". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ "Tale of a title". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ migrator (2020-06-22). "Publicity designer creates retro film posters to reconnect with classics". www.dtnext.in. Archived from the original on 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ "Why is Vijay's Master poster blurry? Designer Gopi Prasanna reveals details". India Today. Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
- ^ "Gopi Prasanna creates graffiti for 'Super Deluxe'". The Times of India. 2019-03-27. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Subramanian, Anupama (28 March 2019). "Graffiti art for Super Deluxe". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- ^ Raman, Sruthi Ganapathy (2023-05-27). "Production Designer Of Modern Love Chennai On Capturing The Soul Of The City". www.filmcompanion.in. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- ^ "Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam tease fans ahead of the promo release; 'KH 234' crew announced!". The Times of India. 2023-10-27. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-01-24.