September 3, 2026

Anjali Krishnakumar

The Bollywood film Chamatkar (1992) opens with a title sequence that can only be described in two words: campy and iconic. The crudely drawn sequence, a relic from a bygone era when credits rolled before the movie, looks as though it might have been drawn and animated using MS Paint. It features the main characters as cartoons interacting with each other in a fantastical two-dimensional landscape. They kiss, fight and fly around the screen to a whimsical soundtrack composed by Anu Malik, their actions underscored by stars, hearts, clouds and bullets, all seemingly pulled from the MS Paint shape catalogue. The sequence introduces some of the film’s primary relationships and conflicts in a manner so basic and bizarre that it becomes almost charming.