His big international debut came in 2000 at the Japan Foundation Asia Center in Tokyo. In the exhibition, Bombay: labyrinth/laboratory, Dodiya used shopfront shutters —doorways to an urban, commercial life — to create a series of three-dimensional works that constantly conflates the dark, sometimes chilling, world of Mumbai’s streets with iconic symbols of Indian life. For example, a shutter painted with a kitschy image of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, opens into a stark interior — a grainy newspaper picture of three women who killed themselves because they could not afford a dowry. The Japan Foundation Asia Centre writes: “The rolling-shutter paintings of 2000 mark his change of mode to using everyday objects that can be found in the public space of a city, such as a collapsing gate, ladder, cart and movie billboard.”

But it is Dodiya’s increasing use of the language of kitsch that has made critics call him the next Bhupen Khakhar. His most recent ode to Khakhar, that opened at the new Chemould on Prescott Road, was, says Gandhy, who referenced the exhibition, a “personal tribute” and “an in-house dialogue”. The show’s most endearing images were garish fibreglass busts of the painter. Khakhar’s possessions like his pillow, his favourite books and his dentures were placed alongside kitschy objects — that were part of his aesthetic language. “In many ways, he has come in to replace Bhupen as a master of kitsch and pop,” says Gandhy.

What does the future hold for these two artists? Dinesh Vazirani of Saffron Art says it all depends on where and how they position themselves. “Atul has had a series of solos at Bodhi, Vadera, Chemould and Art Gallery, now it’s time for him to establish his non-Indian representation with more international fares and shows. With Subodh it’s important to see what kind of work he does next and what relationships they forge with his audience.” Whatever be the road ahead, the artists of the quotidian are sure to take Indian art to greater heights.