Ranjit Dahiya is an artist, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and an arts & design professor all rolled into one. Founder artist of BAP, Ranjit Dahiya is originally from a small town named Sonipat in Haryana. He did his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art from College of Art, Chandigarh and further went on to do his Post Graduate in Graphic Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Today we are here to discuss his love for Bollywood, murals and documenting a case study of BAP, Bollywood Art project.
Can you start by telling us what is BAP and some background story behind it?
Can share some brief historical background about murals as an art form in India? Which all other Indian cities do have murals or graffiti going on? What according to you is role of mural in society?
India has 2 religions. Cricket and Bollywood. You picked Bollywood. The first ever mural made is a poster from a 1953 film Anarkali. What makes you draw stuff which is pre-2000’s? Do you consider drawing anything apart from Bollywood if not commissioned?
How different it is to detail out the nuances of the subject being painted when you draw on big walls? You have rough strokes or also show the smaller details? How do you decide the level of detailing you wish to achieve? Can you quickly walk us through the process?
What sort of colours are used to keep the painting fresh for some time? With the heat and rains in Mumbai - Have you experimented with colour mixtures to keep those murals long lasting? Mixing acrylic, with emulsion paint or simply oil paints?
When you travel across India, especially in highways and country side, You see lot of walls painted with either Tele-com providers or tractors… in a way actual advertising, which seems to be a paid job. From where do you think your motivation comes for painting old Bollywood stuff?
Can you take a particular example and tell how do you respond to the surface and how does surface responds to your artwork. For eg: If you are painting a Bollywood heroin, can her eyes be 2 windows which are nicely designed? Do you expect the building owners and keep their windows open or closed all the time based on your artwork?
I saw few of your videos online where you draw a rough sketch and then probably a complete artwork on canvas to envision, why can’t or don’t you just draw on huge canvases and hang them? What is the difference in drawing on huge canvas versus actual walls?
With Flex and other mediums emerging to promote films and TV series, what is your one hope and one disappointment when you look at these?

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