On the other side, Husain courted controversy over his paintings of Hindu goddesses. Hindu groups attacked his house in 1998 and vandalized his works. In February 2006, Husain was charged with hurting sentiments of people because of some portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses he worked on in the 70s.

In the wake of legal challenges and death threats in his home country, The ace painter was living abroad in self-imposed exile since 2006 and was offered Qatari citizenship in January 2010, which he accepted. sDespite these controversies, he is one of the most revered painters across the globe; he started off his career painting film posters. Husain is also famous for his painting of Madhuri Dixit, for his series Gaja Gamini.

Published Date : Friday, 10/6/2011 12:52 PM IST