Interesting trivia on M F Husain

New Delhi: M F Husain is one of the most enigmatic artists of India who is known for his vigorous appreciation of the human circumstances - traces of which can be found in his masterpieces. Here is some interesting trivia on M F Husain:

• Forbes magazine called him the "Picasso of India".
• His mother died when he was one and a half years old. His father remarried and moved to Indore, where Husain went to school.
• As a child, Hussain learnt the art of calligraphy and loved to read poetries while he resided with his uncle in Baroda.
• During his early days in Mumbai he earned money painting cinema hoarding - one of the often-told stories about his early days. Given the bad pay, Husain tried other jobs as well. One of the best paying was a toy factory, where he designed and built fretwork toys.
• Husain went on to become the highest paid painter in India. His single canvases have fetched up to $2 million at a Christie's auction.
• In 1947, Hussain won an award for his paintings at the annual exhibition of the Bombay art society and this marked the beginning of a vibrant colorful career ahead waiting for this art maestro.
• In 1973, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, in 1989, the Padma Vibhushan and finally was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986.
• In the 1990s some of Husain's works became controversial because of their portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner.
• The paintings in question were created in 1970, but did not become an issue until 1996, when they were printed in Vichar Mimansa, a Hindi monthly magazine, which published them in an article headlined "M.F. Husain: A Painter or Butcher".
• The controversy escalated to the extent that in 1998 Husain's house was attacked by Hindu groups like Bajrang Dal and art works were vandalised. The leadership of Shiv Sena endorsed the attack.
• In February 2006, Husain was charged with hurting sentiments of people because of his nude portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.
• As a result, on February 7, 2006 Husain apologised and promised to withdraw the painting from an auction. The painting later appeared on Husain's official website.
• Hussain left India and juggled between Dubai and London after his paintings stirred the controversy.
• In November 2007, the unabashed Madhuri admirer booked the entire Lamcy Cinema in Dubai for the afternoon show of Madhuri Dixit's comeback film Aaja Nachle.
• Besides Madhuri Dixit, actress Amrita Rao served as his muse as well. On her birthday, Hussain gifted her three of his paintings. Experts estimate that each of MF Husain's paintings gifted to Rao must be at least worth Rs one crore.
• Hussain has also made feature films, like "Through the Eyes of a Painter" and "Gajagamini", the former winning the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and the latter featured his muse Madhuri Dixit who was the subject of a series of his paintings which he signed Fida. The film was intended as a tribute to Ms. Dixit herself.