Some of our Bollywood celebrities are not just actors, but have other artistic talents as well. Here, we take a look at Bollywood stars who nurse a passion for painting (and are good at it too).
Sonakshi Sinha
Sonakshi Sinha was recently in the news for planning to host an exhibition of her artwork. The actress spends a lot of her free time painting and wish to reveal her ‘colourful’ side.
Sona has put together close to 30 paintings for the art exhibition. Sonakshi also did a shoot with her photographer friend Rohan Shrestha, the paintings were photographed and projected onto the actress to create very artistic and unique images.
Salman Khan
I guess everyone know’s about Salman’s painting talents, which he inherited from mother Salma. He paints abstracts, religious imagery, couples and even his dogs.
Bhai can draw, sketch and paint…and he’s very good at it. Even the late MF Husain acknowledged Salman Khan’s painting skills.
- Salman gifted Ranbir Kapoor a painting of his grandfather Raj Kapoor on his game show Dus Ka Dum (In 2008)
- Salman also presented Aamir Khan one of his portraits in his Ghajini (2008) avatar.
- Salman also inspired Dabangg (2010) co-star Sonakshi Sinha to take up painting.
Ali Zafar
The Pakistani actor-singer is a great painter (has a degree in fine arts.) He’s quite good at poetry too.
As a teenager, Ali used to sell charcoal portraits in a hotel lobby for R500 each, to fund his music albums.
“Some women wanted a painting like the one Leonardo DiCaprio makes for Kate Winslet in Titanic, including my wife, whom I later painted,” he says.
“Once I got busy with music, I stopped painting. I picked up the brush after seven years in 2010 when my father asked me to be a part of a national exhibition in Lahore, hosted by the alumni association of the College of Art and Design for the rehabilitation of craftsmen affected by the devastating floods” says Zafar.
Zafar also painted Aditi Rao Hydari during the promotions of their movie ‘London, Paris, New York’ (2012).
Sridevi
Sridevi loves to draw and paint. Here artwork is varied – ranges from abstracts to portraits. There’s a huge one of Michael Jackson (her idol) adorning the wall of her house.
“After me and the kids, painting is her main passion. Now her paintings have reached a level of professionalism where they can fetch a handsome price,” said husband Boney kapoor in 2010 after one of Sridevi’s paintings ‘Thoughts’ got accepted at a reputed international art auction.
Salman, a close friend of Boney and Sridevi, was one of those few actors/friends to whom Sridevi had gifted a portrait done by her. In fact, it was Salman who convinced her and motivated her to take up painting again (during the making of ‘Wanted’ the entire thing got ignited again revealed husband Boney Kapoor).
“I’ve seen some really huge paintings made by her lining the walls of her home. They’re really good, but that’s not surprising because Sridevi is a perfectionist who excels in everything she takes up,” says Gauri Shinde.
Abhay Deol
Unlike the other Deols, Abhay Deol has managed to carve out a nice for himself in the film industry. Recently, Abhay Deol surprised his fans when he revealed his talent as a painter on a photo-sharing site.
Bhagyashree
Salman Khan’s Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) co-star Bhagyashree says painting was a fun pastime that let her imagination take flight.
“I began when I was 13, with sketches of my favourite stars, Amitabh Bachchan, Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot and Michael Jackson,” Bhagyashree.
Aamir Khan
Perfectionist Aamir Khan learnt painting for a role. He took up art lessons to play the part of Arun, the painter, in wife Kiran Rao’s directorial debut Dhobi Ghat (2010).
“Salman’s a fantastic painter and has presented me with four beautiful paintings that are up on our walls. I tried to copy one of them.. a face…and realised I’d a really bad artist but a good imitator. I gifted the canvas to Salman and it has pride of place in his living room. I guess, he didn’t want to break my heart,” says Aamir Khan
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is also good at painting, she always got an ‘A grade’ in art when in school. During ‘Love Aaj Kal’ (2009), in which Deepika played a fresco restoration artist, when she spotted canvasses and paint on the set, she made a couple of beautiful paintings.
