Video Courtesy: Aditya Mishra

MADHEERA

Madheera by Shauharty, ARSLAN & Pakeezah is an experimental hip-hop mixtape blending theatre, grit, and cinematic storytelling. The anniversary edition reimagines the original CDs with a more mature, polished lens marking a coming-of-age moment for the project.

Brief

To design the complete physical packaging and promotional visuals for the Madheera (Anniversary Edition) EP; including the CD, disc art, cover design, and posters. The goal was translating this "experimental" cinematic mixture of hip-hop and literature references into a tactile artifact.

Black and white portrait photo
Black and white portrait photo

Concept

This was the anniversary edition, so my approach switched up quite a bit from the original red and yellow. I think Shauharty and I always had this idea in mind; the album just gives off gold with its old Indianised sound. The Bollywood movie still on the cover is a tacky ode to that. The photo on the CD, on the other hand, shows a bunch of people gathered at a desi theka, stocking up on the cheapest alcohol (because well, Madheera). The stamping on the bottom half is scanned from a vinyl record from the Denver Public Library. The tracklist follows a strangely arranged sequence, full of type crime. My idea back then was to partially show the beard of what I imagined the protagonist would look like. I then stepped out with a couple of friends late at night just to figure out where I could photograph the CD and ended up at an old defunct phone booth and well, what you see now are the images i created

Black and white portrait photo
Black and white portrait photo

Outcome

The design evolved into a limited-edition object for fans and collaborators, aligning with the cinematic and gritty tone of the mixtape.

The CD format and print-driven aesthetic contrasted the digital nature of modern releases in an attempt to give the anniversary (and the project) a physical, lasting presence.

Additional Deliverables/ideations

Smooth Scroll
This will hide itself!