There is one word that is synonymous with Maxim magazine—bold, very bold. Whether it’s in America or India, Maxim has a habit of keeping men drooling, while women try and shove their eyes back in their sockets after being exposed to a sexy overload. While many view India as an extremely conservative society, Maxim leaves no stone unturned in providing our men with a magazine made just for them. Naturally, it’s filled with sizzling and sensual babes and is primarily targeted toward their body below the waist (no, not their legs!).
However, do our female celebrities look sexy in their shoots? Or do they simply look skanky? BollySpice takes a look at the shoots so far and rates them based on a hotness factor and a morality factor. A perfect shoot would be when it scores in both departments! Get ready for one steaming ride through the issues of Maxim!
The first star to be featured in Maxim was Priyanka Chopra who deserves a round of applause for not only scorching the January 2006 issue, but not looking smutty at the same time. In both the black and white outfit, Priyanka looks absolutely gorgeous. This is what you call class.
Hotness Factor: 9 Morality Factor: 9
Going from the few pictures available, Kareena Kapoor looks nice in her photo shoot but it just seems a bit mundane. It is still good, but just isn’t as exciting as Priyanka’s. But, at least she doesn’t look slutty, so she does deserve some points.
Hotness Factor: 6.5 Morality Factor: 9
The fair and naturally beautiful Katrina Kaif was next to be Maxim-ized. Against a dark background, Katrina laid clad in a form-fitting green gown. This pose echoed sheer class because Katrina’s backless dress and elegant pose makes her look sexy, without looking cheap.
Hotness Factor: 8 Morality Factor: 9.5
Though she’s rarely glamorous in cinema, Urmila Matondkar re-invented herself for the cover of June 2006, including numerous poses within the magazine as well. Easily, this is one of Maxim’s best shoots to date. It’s not every day we get to see the beautiful Urmila (who used to be extremely glamorous in her early days) in this light, so it’s very refreshing. Urmila has always been sexy, we just don’t get to see her in such an avatar very often. Each and every one of her shots is shot aesthetically and is sweltering with heat. The only complaint is the cover, which isn’t as classy as the rest of the shoot.
Hotness Factor: 9 Morality Factor: 8
Koena Mitra looks trashy. That’s the bottom line. To be honest, I don’t consider that sexy, hot or beautiful. A woman with class, a woman that demands respect, and a woman who personifies elegance is far sexier in my opinion. More skin doesn’t mean hotter, which is a lesson that Koena apparently needs to learn. She actually looks kind of freaky in some of the pictures. In her Maxim interview she says “I’m comfortable with a certain amount of skin show.” Clearly!
Hotness Factor: 3 Morality Factor: 2
Next, we saw Kim Sharma, who is struggling to make a name for herself in the industry, land on Maxim. Unfortunately this one didn’t go down so well. Kim ends up looking quite slutty and not even hot. She really doesn’t have the figure for such a photo shoot. Also, you can tell that she’s trying too hard to be sexy, which is a complete turn-off. Try harder next time Kim (acting wise, too!).
Hotness Factor: 5 Morality Factor: 5
By far, Celina Jaitley’s photoshoot was the most disappointing. Not that we can expect any less of the lady who feels that unnecessary cleavage is the law. There is nothing wrong with being sexy. There is nothing wrong with looking hot. There is something wrong with looking like a two-dollar whore. Unfortunately, Miss Jaitley is an expert at that and her shoot reflects this exactly. While her cover shot wasn’t so bad, the rest was just a damper. Celina’s photo shoot was based on a sports theme, and unfortunately, she does not score. In particular, the shot of her lying in the grass with dirt on her is just not appealing. She does not have the class to carry off such a shoot. Plus, what’s up with those orange socks?
Hotness Factor: 2.5 Morality Factor: 2.5
Sameera Reddy definitely knows how to use her attitude while looking sexy, without crossing the dreaded ‘slut’ line. Her shot in the black isn’t so great, but the one with the red top is stunning! Also, it’s nice to see a girl who isn’t pin-thin. She’s got curves in all the right places, and that’s beyond sexy. Way to go, Sameera!
Hotness Factor: 7.5 Morality Factor: 7
It seems like a lot of people don’t take notice of Isha Koppikar who is in fact quite good looking and definitely knows how to be hot. Her shoot isn’t really anything amazing, but it’s still nice. The shot in the tub of flowers is awesome. Looking good, Isha!
Hotness Factor: 7 Morality Factor: 6.5
Let me first make it clear that I am not an Amisha Patel fan whatsoever. I don’t think she’s beautiful, nor do I think she’s a good actress. But as far as her Maxim shoot goes, I’m very impressed! She pulls off the corset look very nicely and ends up looking the sexiest I’ve ever seen her look. Her make-up is not too hardcore, just enough to make her look good. Though you can see some meat on her thighs, what real woman doesn’t look like that? Pin thin isn’t sexy anyway. It’s a pretty decent photo shoot too, without exposing much.
Hotness Factor: 8.5 Morality Factor: 7.5
Mallika, oh Mallika. What can we say about you? Mallika Sherawat definitely knows how to make eyes pop out of their sockets. Probably the most daring shoot of her career, she apparently didn’t eat for a few days leading up to this shoot. Was it worth it? Not really. Clad in leather apparel, she sheds all inhibitions (including morality) but does manage to look sexy in some sort of way. If you like porn stars, that is.
Hotness Factor: 6.5 Morality Factor: -100
Now, Bipasha Basu is no stranger to oomph! Once again, she maintains her signature sizzle and looks ravishing. One of the best shoots we’ve seen so far, Bips looks sexy and doesn’t make you embarrassed to be looking at the pictures either. Stunning.
Hotness Factor: 9.5 Morality Factor: 7
Morality definitely wasn’t on Yana Gupta’s mind when she posed for this shoot. The thing is, she really does look sexy! She knows how to use facial expressions to make us drool, not just her body. Scorching hot.
Hotness Factor: 8.5 Morality Factor: 3.5
We haven’t seen Mandira Bedi in a while, but she makes an appearance in April 2007’s issue. She’s pretty, but somehow she doesn’t manage to pull off the sexy image no matter how much she bares. It seems weird that the woman who played a good little bahu in Hum Aapke Hain Kaun is now wearing thongs in magazines. I don’t know, just doesn’t digest well with me.
Hotness Factor: 5 Morality Factor: 5
Tanushree Dutta looks as if she is trying too hard to be sexy in her shoot, as always. It is not as sleazy as others, but it’s nothing great either. She isn’t very graceful, and that is her biggest downfall.
Hotness Factor: 4 Morality Factor: 5
Neha Dhupia is a woman I find to be very beautiful. There’s just something about her. Even in her Maxim shoot, she looks like a million bucks and she doesn’t really resort to looking cheap either. There’s one shot that’s borderline slutty, but that’s about it. And she’s damn sexy.
Hotness Factor: 8 Morality Factor: 7.5
The next siren to hit Maxim is Dia Mirza. She looks very cute and classy in her shoot, like a woman of luxury. It could have been a bit sexier, but she looks beautiful above all. The makeup in a few shots is a bit odd, but she still looks very nice, and very moral (by Maxim standards).
Hotness Factor: 6.5 Morality Factor: 9.5
Celina makes her second appearance into the pages of Maxim with the latest photo shoot. It is a vast improvement from her first shoot, as she does not look as cheap or slutty. She still exposes a bit, which is Celina’s trademark, but it’s nowhere near the bold shoot she did the first time around. She also looks a lot simpler this time around, which is a plus.
Hotness Factor: 5 Morality Factor: 6
From one sexy siren to the other, there have been countless to grace the pages of Maxim. Naturally, the primary aspect of all shoots was titillating sex appeal. Some scored, some didn’t. While Priyanka, Urmila, and Bipasha rank the highest on hotness and morality, others like Celina Jaitley, Kim Sharma, and Koena Mitra failed in both departments. Then there were those showstoppers like Yana Gupta and Mallika Sherawat that raised quite a few eyebrows. Some actresses we’d like to see in Maxim would be Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty, Shamita Shetty and Preity Zinta. Anyway, I’m sure most of the men in India aren’t complaining about Maxim. In fact, they’re probably busy wiping the drool from their mouths. Rock on, Maxim!
