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There are ways to show nudity aesthetically: Pooja
Pooja Bhatt is her father's daughter. Brash as an actress, she's now equally outspoken as producer-director. Having courted trouble for nudity in films like Jism, Paap, Rog and now Zeher, Pooja insists that obscenity is different from a work of art.
Pooja Bhatt is her father's daughter in more ways than one. Brash as an actress, she's now equally outspoken as a producer-director. Having courted trouble for nudity in films like Jism, Paap, Rog and now Zeher, Pooja insists that obscenity is different from a work of art.
"I think nudity was never accepted in films. It was always partly projected with illusions like the bare back, bare shoulders or legs. If we were to look at full frontal nudity on the lines of Hollywood then the film industry was never bold enough to experiment with that. In fact I also subscribe to the industry's viewpoint that what you do not show - leaving it to the imagination - is much more sensual and aesthetic than full nudity.
There are ways to show nudity aesthetically like I have shown Bipasha and John in Jism. They appear to be making out under a sheet. I find that far more enticing and aesthetic than showing the actual act. Sometimes if you are a little discreet, it works better than going all out for exposure.
Nudity does not appeal to the Indian sensibilities - In Jism there is a scene where Bipasha is wearing only a man's shirt. She looks sexier and saucier than she would in a midriff-baring outfit. That would have appeared vulgar. Since I know that nudity doesn't appeal to Indian sensibilities, I haven't used it anywhere in the film.
But it's a fact that people in India are far more tolerant than in Pakistan. My father's film Nazar for instance, has run into all kinds of problems for a simple kiss. The actress Meera even received death threats. Now, things like that can only happen in Pakistan. Indians are not that sensitive to bold films and exposure.
This kind of outrage over reminds me of my own run-in with when the magazine morphed my 'nude' pictures on its cover. Although I felt a similar sense of outrage, there was one big difference. I had never given my consent for this kind of photo shoot with . But in films, an actress is well informed about the story and what each scene entails. She chooses to exercise her own discretion in doing the scene that is within the limits of public decency. In Meera's case, it was just a simple kiss - it doesn't justify this kind of public outcry!
There's a separate market for nudity on screen - C-grade films are a common phenomena the world over. Both in India and abroad sleaze has its own niche market. So while you have a Paap ka Ghada or Pyasi Jism in India, there's something like the Boss's Secretary in UK. And why only nude films, even action films have existed for over 20 years. So it's not as if films are immune to nudity. It's just that such films or nudity per se has never been part of mainstream cinema. Like you have pornographic DVDs and CDs freely available in the market, so also you have such films catering to a small segment of the audience that doesn't mind watching low budget presentations with extremely poor quality content.
No one can imagine the pains a producer goes through whilst making a film. And if the film happens to be bold in its subject or depiction, then the trouble comes from all corners. A film like Rog generated controversy for its posters and hoardings. I have only one question. Where were all these people when promos of the film went on air or when the censor board cleared the film and its publicity material? At the end of the day every filmmaker or a producer wants to make a film to make money. Imagine my plight - Rog has come and gone, but I am still dealing with an impending court case about what its poster looked like!
