From the Mallikas to the Bipashas, have you ever noticed that many Bollywood heroines choose to expose when their career is experiencing a lull or to garner attention? There are certainly many actresses who take this path.
Recall Tanishaa Mukherjee, sister of the brilliant Kajol, who debuted in the box office disaster Sssshhh. While her films continued to flop, she decided to shed her clothes for a role in Neal N Nikki, in search for that elusive hit. It turned out that this film was a box office disaster as well. So, the question is, what’s the use of exposing anyway? Does it really bag you hits, or is it pointless?
Bipasha Basu and Esha Deol are other actresses who switched into exposing after continuous box office failure. Bipasha opened the doors to exposing in Pooja Bhatt’s Jism with John Abraham. Though her performance was appreciated, it’s obvious that this was not exactly a fully-clothed role. Bipasha has also gone back to exposing in Dhoom 2 after losing some weight and toning her body. Esha Deol started exposing in her ninth film Dhoom that was a box office hit. Her career was almost non-existent until this film revived it.
Priyanka Chopra and Neha Dhupia are other actresses who decided not to expose anymore after doing continuous overbold roles. Priyanka decided to go go bold since her fist film. Then, she continued the trend after Andaaz, with roles in Plan, Kismat and Aitraaz. Later, she said she was ashamed of looking at herself exposing on-screen so she decided to ditch the skin show concept. Neha Dhupia was one of the most overexposed actresses in Bollywood until she decided to put some clothes on after Sheesha. Her role in Julie was very bold and required her to reveal a lot; there were even rumors that she has a topless seen in the film. It should be noted that although Julie was a hit, several of Neha’s subsequent skin-show films were box office duds. Only now, fully clothed, is Neha finally being noticed for her talent. Looks like these two ladies have learned their lesson!
Mallika Sherewat is definitely the boldest star in Bollywood. It has also become expected to see Mallika half-naked these days! In her case, the overxposure got her noticed big time. Her talent was not fully recognized until Pyaar Ke Side Effects, where she played a girl-next-door role. She also took a role in Hollywood (The Myth) that required her to expose quite a bit. She has also been offered a photoshoot for Playboy, but turned it down. Well, it looks like she has some sort of sanity left (even if it’s barely there).
Many newcomers these days debut exposing and performing bold scenes. With this trend, we hope that Bollywood maintains its dignity and culture, without transforming into a Hollywood Jr. Remember, exposure does not equal talent! We want to see more movies like Hum Dil De Chukke Sanam, Baghban, Swades, Rang De Basanti, Black, Sarkar or even the newly released Cheeni Kum. Audiences definitely prefer real Indian cinema than Hollywood-ish Bollywood movies.
