Krishen Khanna


Krishen Khanna is an Indian artist born in Lyallpur. He attended Imperial Service College in England and is a self-taught artist. He is recipient of the Rockefeller Fellowship in 1962, the Padma Shri in 1990, and the Padma Bhushan in 2011.

Early life

In 1938 Khanna travelled from Bombay to Britain on RMS Strathmore. After attending the Imperial Service College from 1938 to 1942, Khanna enrolled at Government College, Lahore, from 1942 to 1944. In 1946 he started working with Grindlays Bank for 14 years. In 1961 he resigned from the bank and devoted his full-time to art.

A Far Afternoon : a painted saga by Krishen Khanna (2015)

The feature documentary directed by Sruti Harihara Subramanian and produced by Piramal Art Foundation, A Far Afternoon — A painted saga by Krishen Khanna, recently received two National awards in the categories of National Award for Best Art /Cultural Film and the National Award for Best Music. The documentary is a filmmaker’s attempt to memorialize the artistic process involved in the creation of the eponymous art work by veteran artist Krishen Khanna, and trace some of the influencers for the artist. A film in five parts, A Far Afternoon, delves into those influences that eventually rendered themselves on canvas. Bombay, the city in which Krishen Khanna was inducted into the Progressive Artists Group; the baraaat, a constant in Indian weddings; the choice of colours, yellow, blue and whites; other artists, other art works that have brought him to this place and point in time. The music directors of A Far Afternoon the music duo Aravind-Jai Shankar are based out of Chennai, India. They have worked on national award-winning films, documentaries, advertising commercials, computer and mobile device games and numerous other projects encompassing the scope of music, sound design, and audio production.

Festivals/Awards

1. 63rd National Film Awards — Best Art/Cultural film
2. 63rd National Film Awards — Best music
3. New York Indian Film Festival — Nominated for Best Documentary — May 2016
4. 3rd Cinema Indien, Stockholm — Official selection — April2016
5. All Lights India International Film Festival — Official Selection — November 2015

Awards, Fellowships and Honors