Milind Soman on backlash for posting nude photo: ‘Why wouldn’t I put it? If you don’t want to follow me, don’t’ - Hindustan Times
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Milind Soman on backlash for posting nude photo: ‘Why wouldn’t I put it? If you don’t want to follow me, don’t’

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | BySamrudhi Ghosh
Dec 16, 2020 04:09 PM IST

Milind Soman responded to the backlash he faced after posting a nude photo on Instagram to mark his 55th birthday. He said that the line between art and obscenity is in people’s heads.

Model-turned-actor Milind Soman bared it all on his 55th birthday, as he posted a nude photo of himself running on the beach. While most were swooning over the picture and marvelling at his fitness, some took offence and filed an FIR against him for obscenity.

Milind Soman stirred up a storm when he shared a photo of himself in the buff on his 55th birthday.
Milind Soman stirred up a storm when he shared a photo of himself in the buff on his 55th birthday.

Though Milind has run into controversy because of bold content in the past, he did not have any reservations before signing his upcoming ALTBalaji series Paurashpur, which has its share of eroticism. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he asserted that he ‘chose the character’.

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“See, finally, it is the prerogative of the directors and producers and how they want to tell a story, whether sex and violence should be shown because it exists. I mean, what is the point of not showing what exists? We hide enough in real life. We have enough oppression and injustice going on that we try to hide in our own lives and our society, so what is the point of hiding it in a story when you are trying to bring it out? Of course, the actual depiction is a matter of discussion - how much is too much, and so on. But you can’t hide it. If there is sex, there is sex. If there is violence, there is violence,” he said.

“I was discussing with someone the other day about the line between what is justifiable and not justifiable, censorship, and so on. It is finally a choice. You have to tell people, ‘Sex will be shown. If you don’t want to watch it, don’t watch this. There is bad language. There is violence. If you don’t want to see blood, don’t watch it for sure.’ That is given and then, people have the choice. Because finally, if you don’t give them the choice, they will never understand anything,” he added.

Milind reminded everyone that in the age of the internet, where everything is available at the click of a button, censorship is meaningless. “Today, the internet is there. Like, when someone tells me, ‘Oh, you uploaded a naked picture!’ Yes, uploaded where? On Instagram, which has not removed it, so they don’t care. If you search #naked on Instagram, there will be more than 10 million photographs. So, you have to decide. You hashtagged naked and pressed the search button, that is your choice. If you don’t do it, you won’t see it,” he said.

Watch the full interview here:

 

 

Also read: Kartik Aaryan opens up about how he handled Love Aaj Kal’s ‘dismal performance’

“If you know someone who has done naked photography before, he is quite likely to do it again. Why not? Because he doesn’t see anything wrong with it. I have done it commercially, for magazines, for newspapers, I have done it as a model, as an actor, I have done sex scenes. Why wouldn’t I put it on my Instagram page? If you don’t want to follow me, don’t follow me. Some people said, ‘My mother is on Instagram.’ I said, ‘Yes, so she shouldn’t open certain pages.’ Last week, Jennifer Lopez put up a naked picture on her 50th birthday. On Instagram. What do people have to say about that? The fact is, the line is in your head - what is art, what is vulgarity, what is obscenity and what is not. It is so subjective and it changes every day,” he added.

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