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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Ashwin Joharapurkar believes in telling good stories, whether through his advertising career or in his own time
Patriotism is not something that moves very many of the current generation of artists, and it is surprising to find the sentiment in the work of a Mumbai-based advertising professional. For Ashwin Joharapurkar, Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather, creating a series of illustrations of Indian freedom fighters seems to balance his other commercial projects. “Though I illustrated these portraits, they are not just good-looking pieces of art. They tell a story of that person. Advertising too is also all about telling stories,” he admits. “I always looked up to Bhagat Singh,” says Ashwin, recalling how his patriotic spirit was first wakened. “He inspired an entire nation by the age of 20 and gave up his life in the process. When I was 20, I didn't even know what to do after graduation! Whenever I saw Bhagat Singh’s framed photo in government offices, schools or in the textbooks, I used to feel sad about the quality. That’s when I decided to make one myself. After I illustrated Bhagat Singh, I showed the drawing to a few of my friends and they loved it. That encouraged me to work on Lokmanya Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji.” Born in a small town in the Vidharbha region of Maharashtra, Ashwin has had a long journey to Mumbai. “Finding design in my home town was as difficult as finding water,” he exclaims. 40 POOL #67
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