Cinemaazi remembers M F Hussain on his death anniversary

M F Hussain, one of India's best known artists, passed away on 9 June, 2011. He grew up in Indore, and was taken with Brancusi's portraits of Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar and his wife. He embarked on his artistic journey after training in calligraphy and kufic khat. After moving to Mumbai in 1937, he apprenticed under a painter of cinema posters. The turning point in his career was the founding of the Progressive Artists' Group. Hussain adopted an experimental style in his work, blending western art styles with Indian classical forms. He had already become one of India's premiere artists by the 1950s. 
Hussain's first brush with cinema came when he made the short film Through The Eyes of a Painter (1967) which won him a National Film Award and a Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival. He later made the experimental film Gaja Gamini (2000) starring Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan and Naseeruddin Shah. His other film was Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004) starring Tabu. 
His last years were spent in self-exile after he was accused of hurting religious sentiments. He passed way in 2011 in London.