Grab Your Slice of Desi Movie History!
GRAB YOUR SLICE OF BOLLYWOOD & LOLLYWOOD CINEMA HISTORY WHILE YOU CAN...MOST OF OUR POSTERS ARE SUPER RARE AND ARE NOW VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND.

We specialise in collecting what most people might call cinema related junk, but to us its timeless cinema art that is rarer and more valuable with each passing day.  We have collected thousands of Posters from around the world as well as hand painted cinema artwork and lobby cards.  We also offer quite possibly the worlds weirdest and most wonderful selection of Tin Signs; from nostalgia and humour to cult, horror and desi cinema from Bollywood and Lollywood (India & Pakistan).  The posters are mostly in less than perfect condition because they are so old BUT they have been scanned in high resolution and we offer these as downloads which you can use in any which way you like thereafter.  You can even have them reprinted by your local printer and recreate them in all their full sized glory without losing any resolution at all.  We also sell a selection of The most amazing Mugs culled from our Poster collection, T shirts, key chains, and other movie related items.

 

The days of the hand crafted posters and billboards are all but dead and this is why we are doubly delighted to have an artist of the finest calibre who is able to create ANY poster that you could want as a desi painted version.  These custom made posters are normally 3 ft by 4ft in size and are painted in Oil or Water colours on canvas.  The posters can be tweaked for your individual preferences to the extent that you have your face or your friends face painted into the poster as the main character! 


These posters costing $100 each are prepared after your order is received and normally will be completed and mailed within one week.  After that, it could take from 2 to 6 weeks for your hand painted poster to be delivered.

These posters are individually hand crafted and thus unique.  no two paintings will ever be identical.

You may also provide your own images or posters for our artist to create a desi painted poster version of the image.

We may only be able to offer this hand painted poster service as long as our artist is capable because once he puts his brushes away, there are no further artists learning this particular craft as there sadly is no future in it.

So, this an opportunity to have your own hand painted poster created to your own specifications and to own a piece of cinema art that will not be available for much longer.


We operate from Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan.  Most of our shipments are made from the latter using registered Airmail for safe and timely delivery.  We can also deliver using Fed-Ex, TCS or other couriers but their charges are often quite cumbersome in comparison.
We have been in business now for 20 years but our online shop has just reopened after we had to change our hosting company and change our domain from the old www.thehotspotonline.com to www.thehotspotcafe.net 

FAQs -

Q 01.  Are the posters new?
Ans:  No, hardly any of the posters that we have on offer are new.  They are almost all from films made from between the 1940's and 1990. There are some posters that are newer, especially of horror and exploitation movies.

  1. 02. In what formats are the posters available?
    Ans: We have two options for most of our posters while stocks last.  One option is a low cost one where you instantly download your selected High Resolution full size scan (or have it emailed to you) of the poster as a JPEG file.  This option enables you to have your own copy of the poster and you can either print our your own full size posters or create them in any size that suits you.

    The second option is dependent upon stock and most posters we only have the single copy unless specifically stated.  You may purchase any poster that we have for sale and actually own the Original Poster itself which of course has its own satisfaction and value.

Q.03  What condition are the posters in?
Ans:  To be honest, the majority of our posters have been used as advertising and then passed hands several times before landing up in massive heaps at the poster dealer guy from where we made most of our poster discoveries.  Many are in surprisingly good condition considering how old they are and many times the paper that they have been printed on is in very delicate condition.  They range from being in good, near mint condition to some that are almost on their last legs and need immediate restoration.  Hopefully the images we have used to display them also show the damage they have undergone, significant or insignificant.  However, deception is NOT what we are into so please feel free to enquire about the condition of any poser that you may be interested in.  Many have been backed by a linen like material while some are printed on resilient paper while others are fragile and some quite badly damaged.  YET, that said, most of these posters are irreplaceable and though you may find the odd one on eBay and other websites, the fact of the matter is these posters are the last remaining ones and it is a matter of time before there are no more.  Some of the posters may well be the only ones of their kind left, it is as simple as that. We have taken the trouble to back the more fragile posters with linen which has made them far more resilient for the moment.

Q.04  Are these posters ORIGINALS or reprints?
Ans:  ALL The posters are genuine originals and none have been reprinted.  However there are many re-release posters that have been printed for a movie from another era.  For example a film originally released in 1950 may have been reissued in the 1980's and the posters for that movie may well have been redesigned for a newer audience.  For India especially, many of the different states and regions printed posters of a film to suit their sensibilities.  Thus a Poster for the 1978 movie "Don" may have several different designs, some of which are clearly posters of the movies re-release long after its original release.  Still, they are all original posters, and re-release posters are mostly self evident due to the design and generally the increased violence depicted in the more modern incarnations of older movies.  A movie released in the 60s may have an 80s version where suddenly machine guns are on display where before there had been none!  for a good example check the posters of a film like Raja Jani where the re-release posters suggest a violence packed movie while the earlier posters have an accent on romance.  But, to answer the question specifically...ALL the posters are originals printed as advertising for cinemas.

Q 05.  Are the posters all one size?
No, not at all.  they are several different sizes but the majority fall into two general categories which are the regular 1 sheet poster which is like a regular Portrait page though there are some that are roughly the same size but they are laid out as a Quad or Landscape page.  These poster are referred to as 1 sheet posters and their size is approximately 28" x 36" though some are larger by a few inches and some might be marginally smaller.

The second general poster size we have is the smaller Half (1/2) sheet poster which can also vary in size quite a bit but are generally in the vicinity of 17" x 30" with many being smaller and equally others that are larger. 

Rarely, some films have flyers printed which are about what would be approximately an A3 size paper.

The Booklets contain information that is not found elsewhere.  They contain the lyrics of all the songs as well as the complete details of the movies entire crew including hair stylist and make up man etc.  They also usually include a producers blurb which serves as the "story line" synopsis".  These booklets changed over the years with fortunes of the film industry but have now become priceless collectors items from an age left behind.

We also have some posters that are made up of multiple sheets stuck together to form one large poster and we have tried to mention the sizes of these XL posters where they are on sale.

Q 06.  What postal service do you use?
Ans:  though the major Courier companies such as Fed Ex, DHL, TCS are available, these are mostly prohibitively expensive unless you need  your order in a hurry.  Generally we will use International Air Mail (recorded delivery) which is reasonable cost wise and dependable.  If you have any specific shipping needs, these can be discussed and worked out.

Q 07.  How long after I place my order will I receive my High Resolution Poster Scan JPEG file? 
Ans:  Normally you should have received them within 24 hours of your order being processed.

Q 08.  How long after I place my order will I receive my Original Posters?
Ans:  Normally within 2 weeks, but it could take up to 4 or occasionally 6 even.  We would politely like to advise against ordering from us IF you are the type of person who will panic after a week at not receiving your order.  We will provide a scan of the receipt and if after a reasonable period of time the poster has not reached, then we will certainly refund your money completely.

Q 09.  Why are some posters priced so high?
Quite simply this is because these are these are the last remaining posters of their kind.  They are increasingly rare and almost extinct and most posters we have just the single copy of and cannot be replaced.