The best thing that happened to Rosemary Lillu in 2023 was Neru. She designed the posters of the film and considers it a personal victory landing a big banner film. “As a poster designer working independently, it is not easy to come by big projects; they usually prefer established companies,” says Rosemary. “To be part of a Jeethu Joseph-Mohanlal film is an honour,” she adds.
Rosemary did the title design, promotional material for social media, flex, hoardings, and the lyrical video for Neru. “The team was extremely supportive and gave me complete freedom to work. Jeethu (Joseph) sir only said it had to be simple. Since it is a courtroom drama, I had to keep the design and colours simple, yet impactful,” she says.
Rosemary Lillu | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Rosemary designed her first poster for Kavi Uddheshichathu in 2016. Neru is her eleventh film. One of the only female independent poster designers in the industry, Rosemary has worked relentlessly towards building her brand. “During the initial years, people would hesitate to entrust me with a project. But I persevered,” says Rosemary.
Hailing from Kudiyanmala in Kannur, “far away from the glitzy world of films”, Rosemary moved to Kozhikode to study Bachelor of Multimedia Communication at Vismayam College of Art and Media in Kozhikode. After completing her course, she moved to Kochi to work as a graphic designer. “Though I had a job, my dream was to become a film poster designer,” she adds.
She would make portraits and fan-made posters of actors and films regularly and post them on her social media handle. She would also send them to the actors. “Cinema was a dream I grew up with and my portraits actually reflect my love for cinema,” she says. Her work soon got noticed, with actors such as Kunchako Boban and Aju Varghese appreciating her. Her fan-made poster of the film Premam too was appreciated.
A poster of ‘Neru’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Rosemary also took on online promotions of films – the most recent ones being Kaduva and Mahaveeryar. Unlike in the past, almost all the work takes place digitally, says Rosemary. “Once the director gives the theme and the artistes who are starring in the project, I start my work.” One needs to have an idea as to what works for each medium, says Rosemary. “For instance, to design a hoarding, one has to select the right stills that would work on a hoarding, edit them and adapt them according to the size.”
The way people view films and posters has evolved greatly, says the 27-year-old. “In the past, designers had to use stunt scenes and dance sequences on the posters to attract people to the theatre; that is not a norm today,” she adds.
Rosemary hopes to do posters for other languages too, especially Tamil.
