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Pooja's body of work
Riding a wave of success in the early nineties, Bollywood bad girl Pooja Bhatt made heads turn by appearing nude on the cover of Movie magazine. Two things saved her from lawsuits - one, her modesty was covered by bodypaint and second, the Bombay riots broke out.
Riding a wave of success in the early nineties, Bollywood bad girl Pooja Bhatt made heads turn by appearing nude on the cover of Movie magazine. Only two things saved Pooja from being buried under a mountain of lawsuits - first, her modesty was covered by body painting and second, the Bombay riots broke out and it helped divert attention from the controversial cover.
Inspired by the Demi Mooore layout on Vanity Fair's cover in August 1992, Pooja admits she found the concept both unique and innovative. "It was a direct lift from the Vanity Fair cover that showed Demi Moore with a painted bodysuit; she was actually naked underneath. Photographer Dinesh Raheja brought the same concept to me and suggested that I do a similar cover for Movie magazine. Since I take Raheja very seriously I agreed and I stand by the shoot for its innovativeness," says the actress-turned-filmmaker.
According to Pooja, she has no regrets about what she did: "Anna Singh painted me and photographer Jagdish Maali helped get the shot right. I didn't think twice about doing the cover shoot as I was all of 24, very gutsy and raring to go. I have always loved challenges and action of a different kind. I completely stand by what I did at that age."
The reaction to the cover was far more muted than anyone expected. "Although the picture became a huge talking point, there was no backlash of the kind that I later faced for the morphed cover or more recently for my films. I think it had a lot to do with the Bombay bomb blasts and subsequent riots that broke out. When I reflect on the shoot, I don't think I would be able to do it today for various reasons. But I have no regrets about what I did then," insists Pooja.
It is only her priorities that have changed, not her beliefs, says Pooja. "Prior to turning producer my priorities were different and that is why I decided to do the Movie cover. But after turning to production with Tamanna, I discovered a different aspect of my creativity. Obviously my focus shifted to other things and now I may not consider doing such a shoot. However I accept full responsibility for my actions at the age of 24 and will not shy away from it."
