Maqbool Fida Husain (English: Maqbool Fida Husain, born: 17 September 1915; died: 9 June 2011) is a famous painter of Maharashtra whose entire life was dedicated to painting and who is considered a progressive painter. Maqbool Fida Hussain was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, by the Government of India in 1991 in the field of art.
Maqbool Fida Hussain was born on 17 September 1915. After his mother’s death, Maqbool Fida Hussain’s family moved to Indore. Maqbool Fida Hussain received his primary education from Indore itself. At the age of 20, he reached Mumbai, where he studied painting at J.J. School of Arts. For a long time, he made his living by making film posters.
Maqbool Fida Hussain first received national recognition in the late 1940s. In 1947, he joined the Progressive Artists Group. As a young painter, Maqbool Fida Hussain wanted to break away from the nationalist tradition of the Bengal School of Arts and do something new. His first solo exhibition was held in Zurich in 1952. His film ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ was awarded at the 1966 French Film Festival. He incorporated the subtle aspects mentioned in the texts like Ramayana, Geeta, Mahabharata etc. in his paintings.
One of his paintings was sold for 2 million US dollars at Christie’s auction. With this, he became the most expensive painter of India. One of his artworks was sold for 2 million dollars at Christie’s auction and ‘Battle of Ganga and Yamuna – Mahabharat 12’ was sold for 1.6 million dollars at an auction in the year 2008. This was a new record in the sale of South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art. Although MF Hussain was known for his paintings, apart from being a painter, he was also a filmmaker. He made films like Meenakshi, Gaja Gamini. His love for Madhuri Dixit was also much talked about. Along with fame, controversies also never left him.[1]
While Forbes magazine declared him “Picasso of India”, in the year 1996 there was a lot of controversy over his paintings of Hindu gods and goddesses, as a result of which many fundamentalist organizations expressed their displeasure by vandalism. When someone asked him why there has always been controversy over his paintings? His answer was ‘This is modern art. It takes time for everyone to understand it. Then there is democracy. Everyone has a right. This happens anywhere. It has happened in every era. Whenever there is something new. There are fewer people who understand it.’ This style of expression of Hussain sahab shows that he was never afraid of criticism. He also spoke his mind boldly. Very few people know that when Mughal-e-Azam was being made, director K. Asif sahab had got the sketches of the war and its costumes etc. made by Hussain sahab before filming the war scenes. When Asif sahab made ‘Love and God’, he also got the sketches of ‘Swarg’ made by him. Another controversy arose when Qatar offered him citizenship in January 2010, which he accepted. The surprising thing is that Hussain sahab had not received any formal training in art from anywhere. He started his art career by painting film hoardings in Mumbai, for which he used to get four or six annas per square foot. In February 2006, Hussain was also accused of provoking people’s sentiments by painting nude pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses and many cases were filed against Hussain in this regard. This carefree painter did not care about this and kept doing his work. He also received death threats. MF Hussain, a big fan of famous actress Madhuri Dixit, also made a film named ‘Gaj Gamini’ with her. Apart from this, he made a film ‘Meenakshi – A Tale of Three Cities’ with Tabu. Hussain also made many pictures of actress Amrita Rao. Controversies have always followed Husain. Some time ago, when the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma Award was given to him by the Kerala government, the matter reached the court.[1]
The specialty of singing, its joy or sadness cannot be expressed in a painting, but Hussain did this as well. In a program, when Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was showing his singing talent, Hussain surprised everyone by jugalbandi of colours and lines on the canvas along with his singing in the presence of hundreds of people. Painting and exhibiting his car in Mumbai, designing wedding cards, visiting cards and book covers, designing furniture and toys, painting his paintings on saris, painting cigarette packets instantly and gifting them to an acquaintance, painting on hotels, restaurants or paan shops, making murals on grand buildings and buying paintings of young artists, these were all the things that Hussain kept doing and along with flowers of praise, stones of criticism also kept flying towards him. Hussain did not believe in the concept of art for art’s sake. He used to say that it is not necessary that an artist comes out on the streets to protest on any issue, but he does have a responsibility and accountability towards the society. Also, he did not accept the concept of a special environment for art. According to him, if there is no facility of any kind, then one can draw with charcoal on the wall or on the ground. In the twentieth century, Husain was the most famous artist in the world after Picasso.
He did not encourage any of his six children to become artists. When his elder son Shamshad showed interest in art, he told him to travel around the country and practice painting in every medium. If you have the strength in your work, you will definitely be recognized among the people. Similarly, he neither objected to his younger son Uwais becoming a painter, nor did he try to establish Uwais in the art world. Painting made Husain famous, but Husain was more interested in films than painting. An experimental film made by him in 1967, ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’, brought him international fame. After this, Husain also made some documentary films. Then Husain made Gaja Gamini with Madhuri Dixit. Meenakshi starring Tabu and Kunal Kapoor was his last film. Apart from painting and cinema, Husain was also interested in poetry. He not only wrote poems in English and Urdu, but Husain also remembered thousands of couplets of Urdu poets. Many couplets of Ghalib, Josh Malihabadi and Mohammad Iqbal also became part of Hussain’s paintings.[2]
Famous Indian painter Aparna Kaur says that he always kept smiling even though he was forced to live outside the country. According to Aparna Kaur, despite living outside the country, he is always cheerful. I know that he loves this country and its culture very much and therefore staying away from this country and culture must be making him sad but he never lets this sadness show on his face. Aparna Kaur said that Husain wanted to live life with passion till the end. She says that the behavior of some communal minded people with him is really unnecessary. Aparna has been inspired by the work of Husain and another famous Indian painter Amrita Shergil since childhood. K. Bikramjit Singh is a famous Indian documentary filmmaker and critic who has also written a book on MF Husain. About his book Maqbool Fida Husain, Bikramjit Singh says, “This book takes a look at Husain sahab’s work from 1947 to 2007. It has a detailed view of his approach to art, such as his interest in Ramayana etc. But my interest is more in his art and its development rather than his personality.” Indian painter Veer Munshi says that watching him paint is an experience in itself. Veer Munshi says that Husain is a legend and the dimension and diversity of his art is unmatched. According to Veer Munshi, “Hussain’s artistic journey has been very long and it has everything that you can imagine. The energy he had at the age of 94 is worth seeing.”[3]
Maqbool Fida Hussain was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1966. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Vibhushan in 1991. Hussain was also included in the list of 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in Amman. He was also awarded the Golden Bear Award for his film ‘Through the Eyes of a Painter’ at the Berlin Film Festival. He was a special invited guest along with Picasso at the Sao Paulo Art Biennial in 1971.[1]
Maqbool Fida Hussain died on 9 June 2011 in London (England).
