Winning is one thing. Losing your clothes for a win, another. At the time we went to press, the results of the India-Pakistan World Cup semi-final may’ve been uncertain, but what was certain was that the moral brigade was livid about model Poonam Pandey’s announcement that she’d run through the stadium in the buff if the boys in blue won the World Cup.
The 20 year-old said she first intended to go naked for fans in the stadium, and then in the dressing room, in front of the Indian team. "Showing happiness through nudity is against Indian values. I must congratulate her that she feels happy enough to do so, but there are other ways to show happiness," says Vinod Bansal of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
"We are totally against such vulgarity and obscenity," fumes Shalini Thackeray of the right wing Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Shiv Sena says it will handle things ‘their way’ if the government doesn’t step in to stop such gimmicks.
"This is against public morality. It is an offence. The government should make sure such acts should stop. If they do not handle it, we will," says the outfit’s Rahul Navrekar. Pandey is unfazed. "I don’t care if people have a problem. I am one of the most downloaded models online. I don’t need to do this for publicity. I am doing what I want to do," she says.