Bikini Bollywood

Bollywood beckoning bikini…

Cine-goers went off their rockers with the hot and sultry Bipasha Basu sporting a bikini in Dhoom-II, soon after Priyanka Chopra bared it all in Don. Not many went to see Naqaab for enjoying Abbas Mastan’s new mystery plot, courtesy ravishing newcomer Urvashi Sharma’s bikini scene in the movie. Though many starlet have tried taking the bikini route to fame, only a select few have made an impression. Here’s a dekko at the bikini-babes of Bollywood of all ages…  

It is hard to say exactly when heroines started appearing in bikini in Bollywood, and who was the first gal to strike a pose wearing skimpy clothes. Any guesses? Well, one of the earliest trend setters was Meenakshi Shirodkar, a Maharashtrian actress – the grandmother of actors Namrata and Shilpa Shirodkar, who wore a swimsuit in the 30s Brahmachari. Here are a few known faces —  

Nargis – Nargis created a sensation in her family as well as in local Bombay society with the inclusion of a bold appearance in a swimsuit in Rak Kapoor’s Awara (1951). This sensual presentation by a lead heroine also foreshadowed the present trend of showing the heroine as a desirable sexy ‘cheez’ rather than the trend of hiring cabaret dancers and vamps to fill this function.  

Sharmila Tagore – Though Sharmila gained recognition as an actress through her series of ‘serious’ roles in the 1970s, throughout the ’60s Sharmila Tagore held her own as the curve queen. Petite and provocative, Sharmila shocked purists by getting into a two-piece bathing costume on the cover of Filmfare magazine. In An Evening In Paris (1967) she insisted on wearing a bikini. Director Shakti Samanta convinced her to wear a one-piece.

Zeenat Aman – On first glance (even a second) it is a shock to watch just how much skin Zeenat Aman is exposing in some of her films from the 70s. In Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) Zeenat goes bra-less in a see-through saree five times to small for her. Her clothes in the film give Zeenat the single most ‘revealing’ performance in Bollywood history. In Qurbani (1980) Zeenat romps in the surf and up the beach in a micro bikini smaller than anything before or since seen on a Bollywood screen. The relish and self satisfaction, the pride in her potent physical form are evident in these classic Zeenat Aman exhibitions. Not to forget Heera Panna (1973).

Dimple Kapadia – This sassy glamour gal oozed sex appeal, flash skin and gyrates to a heady beat. No actress, till date, has been able to replicate the sexual oomph of Dimple. Remember Bobby, Sagar….?  

Mumtaz – If Zeenat Aman was the chic queen, Mumtaz was the maharani of operatic oomph. Loud, in-your-face earthy and seductive, her big-built charisma saw many films cross the finish line. While other sex symbols down the years were reserved, aloof and unattainable, Mumtaz was the voluptuous girl next door getting into beach-wear with Feroz Khan for torrid clinches in Apradh or joining Rajesh Khanna for a romp in the rain in Do Raaste.  

Helen – One cabaret item by her was enough to send hordes of viewers into a collective swoon. Helen was the conservative queen of coquetry. A simple refugee from Myanmar (formerly Burma) with a large family to feed, she donned the furs only to make a living. Who was to know that within no time a cabaret item by Helen would add so much weigh at the box-office? Helen virtually ruled the roost from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1980s. Her most memorable dance numbers are part of Bollywood folklore.                                       

Urmila Matondkar – Here is Urmila in bikini. From a strong-sexual role in Rangeela to Bas Ek Pal, Urmila has come a long way. But if the narrative of the film demands, she is still ready to appear before camera in skimpy clothes. Urmila came out of the blue to bathe the screen in purple desires. The minute Urmila Matondkar got on a rock Rangeela in a fabulously cut Manish Malhotra dress, a new sex symbol was born. For the first time since Zeenat Aman, oomph was no longer the vamp’s domain. Never confusing vulgarity with sensuality, Urmila has virtually revolutionised the way sensuality is projected in Indian cinema — never cheap, forever chic. She showed the way on how a heroine should project herself on screen without apologising about her sex appeal.  

Mallika Sherawat – Whatever she does, it makes you sit erect. Whatever she wears, it titillates you. Her intention is clear to make your attention pin-pointed on her sensual parts. She is sultry Mallika Sherawat, who always says that it is the script’s demands. Her never-ending list of ooze-inspiring movies include Khwahishen, Murder, Bach Ke Rehna Re Baba, Shaadi Se Pehle, The Myth and …!!    

¥     Nutan donned a bikini in Dilli Ka Thug (1958)

¥     Even Parveen Babi, playing a model, looked ravishing in Yeh  Nazdeekiyan (1982).  

¥     Beauty queen Madhuri Dixit never had any problems capitalising on bikini shots to find her foothold in the Hindi film industry.

¥     Juhi created media buzz with her bare-it-all poses and skimpy attires in movies like Darr and Lootere. These films majorly marked the beginning of her stardom.

¥     Remember the seductress Esha Deol in Dhoom? Now, she’s more choosy with poses.

¥     Actresses Lara Dutta, Diya Mirza, Neha Dhupia, Udita Goswami, Tanushree Dutta, Kangana Ranaut, Celina Jaitley, Isha Koppikar and Sameera Reddy are all for shedding here.

¥     Item girls who set the stage on fire include Meghna Naidu Payal Rohatgi, Kashmira Shah, Rakhi Sawant, Koena Mitra, Yana Gupta let the waterfalls to hit her bare-dare bod with seductive glow in her face.  

Rain, rain come again!

Raj Kapoor was quintessentially the pioneer of drenching beautiful hot bods by water. His heroines – from Nargis to Mandakini, from Zeenat Aman to Dimple Kapadia – were all drenched in the rain or under a waterfall in every film which he directed. One of his greatest hits was Barsaat in the 40s, in which he played the lover of a Kashmiri girl, played by Nargis. In a famous scene from his film Awara, he romanced Nargis under an umbrella in falling rain. He demanded by contract that Zeenat Aman should agree to let the viewers see a glimpse of her bosom in Satyam Shivam Sundaram. In this film, he used the sexuality of Zeenat to the fullest and made her stand under a waterfall to outline her nubile body. He also demanded that his new find Mandakini show her bosom in the film Ram Teri Ganga Maili by creating a scene in which she was seen feeding her infant. Mandakini also went through the wet sensuality routine. Perhaps the most famous of his heroines to do the rain-romance act was Dimple Kapadia, all of 13 when she debuted in the blockbuster Bobby.   So, it’s nothing like Bollywood going on a Hollywood track now. The actresses here have all been for shedding here, so enjoy while it lasts.