Madhuri Dixit, Controversies, Horses: Life Of M.F. Husain

Late Indian artistMaqbool Fida Husain, who was also the recipient of Padma Vibhushan,was a modern Indian painter of international acclaim. His works are well known across the globe.His narrative paintings, which were made in a Cubist style, were sometimes funny, at times somber and depicted serious subjects as well. His themes were also treated in the form of series which include personalities like Mohandas K. Gandhi, Mother Teresa, our Indian mythology (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), the British Raj, and motifs of Indian urban and rural life. His life was marred by controversy by the end but whether it was fair or not... that is another debate altogether. Let's take a quick look at his achievements before he breathed his last on June 9, 2011.

His Love For Madhuri Dixit

To begin with, let's take a look at his relationship with Bollywood. This was out there, known by most but if you didn't, here we go. M.F Husain was a crazy fan of the "Dhak Dhak" girl, the ever sparkling, actress Madhuri Dixit.

He was so obsessed or to put it subtly mesmerised by Madhuri that he watched her blockbuster film ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’ 67 times. He also booked an entire theatre for her comeback flick, ‘Aaja Nachle’. She became his muse so much so that he made a string of paintings on her including a movie "Gaja Gamini" in the year 2000 which also starred superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

He was known As The Picasso of India

Born in 1915 in a village in Maharashtra in a Muslim Family, Husain was coined the "Picasso of India" by Forbes. Oh and did we forgot to mention that his paintings would cost crores of rupees?

His Love For Horses

The man loved to depict the free spirit of horses. You will find many of his paintings which are centered around these beautiful beasts.

His Romance With Controversy

It is extremely tragic and it doesn't feel good when we share this the great Indian artist, who was an inspiration to so many other, could not even breathe his last in the country where he earned his first penny from painting a Bollywood hoarding. Why? Because he voluntarily exiled himself from India and shuttled betweenDoha and London. His existence was so controversial and full of threats that he had to go.

From 1990 to 2005, followed a number of controversies. It started when his paintings apparently hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu nationalist groups, which mounted to a campaign of protest against him. His work from 1970 was questioned but in 1996, suddenly it became an issue when they were printed in Vichar Mimansa. This was a Hindi monthly magazine, which published his works with theheadline "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher".

Following this, eight criminal complaints were filed against him. His home was also attacked in 1998 by Hindu fundamentalist groups like Bajrang Dal and artworks were vandalised. Political party Shiv Sena also endorsed the attack. Arrests were made but the protests led to the closure of his exhibition in England.

Then he made the Tabu-Kunal Kapoor-starrer " Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities". The film was pulled out of cinemas a day after some Muslim organisations raised objections to a song in it. The All-India Ulema Council complained that the Qawwali song "Noor-un-Ala-Noor" was against God. The council argued that the song contained words directly taken from the Quran.

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It was supported by Muslim organisations like the aza Academy, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-HindMilli Council, All-India Muslim Council, and Rand Jamat-e-Islami. However, Husain's son defended that the words were a phrase referring to divine beauty and that there were no ill intentions. He said there was no intention to offend. But sadly due to the protests, enraged and hurt, Husain had to withdraw his movie from cinemas. The good part here is that the one who saw the movie received it well and got great reviews from critics. It also went on to win several awards.

In February 2006, Husain's work wherein he had made nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses, was charged with "hurting sentiments of people". Although the art world found it ridiculous for several reasons.

In addition, in 6 February 2006 issue of India Today, published an advertisement titled "Art For Mission Kashmir". It had a painting of Mother India as a nude woman posed across a map of India with the names of Indian States on various parts of her body. This exhibition was organised by an NGO Nafisa Ali of Action India - an (NGO) and Apparao Art Gallery. This time organizations like VHP protested. As a result, Husain apologised and promised to withdraw the painting from an auction, which was later sold for Rs 80 lakh in the auction.

There were hundreds of lawsuits in connection with Husain by 2007 that even a warrant was issued for his arrest after he did not appear at a hearing, although it was later suspended. He had no other option but to leave.

There is so much the man went through which included a threat which had a bounty on his chopped hands. Art is freedom of speech but to many freedom holds a different meaning. What is your take?