Indian Cinema / From Controversy To Glamour: The Bikini’s Journey Through Indian Cinema
·2 hours ago·4 min read
Key Points
The bikini's Indian cinematic history dates back to Meenakshi Shirodkar in 1938, with Sharmila Tagore's 1966 Filmfare cover becoming the first mainstream bikini cover and sparking controversy in Parliament.
Bhubaneswar: Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu famously said, “Statistics are like bikinis. They reveal more than what they hide.” Statistics can often trigger debates in highest level of legislatures. And, as Sidhu’s famous quip suggests, bikinis can do the same.
There was a time when a bikini on an Indian screen was more than just a costume. It was an event.
It could trigger questions in Parliament, dominate conversations outside theatres and turn an actress’s wardrobe into a matter of public debate.
The bikini's Indian cinematic history is older than Bollywood's most famous glamour icons.
There was a time when a bikini on an Indian screen was more than just a costume. It was an event.
It could trigger questions in Parliament, dominate conversations outside theatres and turn an actress’s wardrobe into a matter of public debate.
The bikini's Indian cinematic history is older than Bollywood's most famous glamour icons.
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In 1938, Marathi actress Meenakshi Shirodkar appeared in a swimsuit in 'Brahmachari'.
Hindi cinema followed with Nargis in 'Awaara' (1951) and Nutan in 'Dilli Ka Thug' (1958). Swimwear was therefore not an invention of the 1960s. What changed in that decade was its association with the image of the mainstream female star.
Enter Sharmila Tagore.
On August 19, 1966, Filmfare featured Tagore in a two-piece on its cover. According to Filmfare, it was the first bikini cover by an mainstream Indian actress. The photograph became a cultural talking point and Tagore later recalled on 'Koffee With Karan' that the controversy even reached Parliament.
A year later, Tagore's screen image pushed the conversation further. In 'An Evening in Paris' (1967), she appeared in a swimsuit during the film's Paris-set sequences.
Director Shakti Samanta later recalled that the possibility of Tagore wearing a two-piece had worried him because of censorship concerns.
Hindi cinema followed with Nargis in 'Awaara' (1951) and Nutan in 'Dilli Ka Thug' (1958). Swimwear was therefore not an invention of the 1960s. What changed in that decade was its association with the image of the mainstream female star.
Enter Sharmila Tagore.
On August 19, 1966, Filmfare featured Tagore in a two-piece on its cover. According to Filmfare, it was the first bikini cover by an mainstream Indian actress. The photograph became a cultural talking point and Tagore later recalled on 'Koffee With Karan' that the controversy even reached Parliament.
A year later, Tagore's screen image pushed the conversation further. In 'An Evening in Paris' (1967), she appeared in a swimsuit during the film's Paris-set sequences.
Director Shakti Samanta later recalled that the possibility of Tagore wearing a two-piece had worried him because of censorship concerns.
Then something interesting happened.
The bikini stopped being the controversy and started becoming part of the vocabulary of glamour.
Dimple Kapadia's youthful fashion in 'Bobby' (1973), Mumtaz's swimwear in 'Apradh' (1972) and Zeenat Aman's increasingly Western screen image helped establish a new vocabulary of cinematic glamour.
By the 1990s and 2000s, India's economic liberalisation had changed more than the economy. Satellite television, advertising, music videos, fashion magazines and international travel brought global visual culture into ordinary homes.
Also Read: Tired Of Scrolling OTT? Watch These 8 Amazing Films On YouTube For Free
Indian cinema absorbed it.
Beach holidays, swimming pools and foreign locations became familiar cinematic settings. The bikini no longer necessarily represented rebellion. It could simply represent glamour, freedom, affluence or a character's modern lifestyle.
By the time actresses such as Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone appeared in beachwear on screen, the costume had become part of mainstream commercial cinema's visual vocabulary.
But there was a catch. Indian society had not necessarily travelled the same distance.
The controversy surrounding Deepika Padukone's saffron bikini in 'Pathaan' (2023) demonstrated this complicated relationship. The dispute was not simply about a bikini. Objections centred particularly on the colour of the costume and its use in the song 'Besharam Rang', with critics alleging that it offended religious sentiments.
The episode showed how clothing in Indian cinema can still become a proxy for much larger arguments about culture, religion and public morality.
And that is perhaps the most revealing part of this nearly nine-decade journey. The bikini itself changed very little. What changed was the meaning attached to it.
In 1938, it was an unusual screen image. In the 1960s, it could become a national controversy. In the 1970s and 1980s, it became increasingly connected with the glamour of the new-age heroine. After liberalisation, it became part of a globalised commercial aesthetic. Today, it can be an ordinary film costum.
Also Read: Flowers, Curtains And Kisses: Here's The Long Journey Of Lip-Lock In Indian Cinema
Yet the periodic controversies surrounding actresses and their clothing show that ordinary on screen does not necessarily mean universally accepted off screen.
Indian cinema has therefore completed one part of the journey. It has made the bikini familiar. Indian society is still deciding what it wants that familiarity to mean.
The bikini stopped being the controversy and started becoming part of the vocabulary of glamour.
Dimple Kapadia's youthful fashion in 'Bobby' (1973), Mumtaz's swimwear in 'Apradh' (1972) and Zeenat Aman's increasingly Western screen image helped establish a new vocabulary of cinematic glamour.
By the 1990s and 2000s, India's economic liberalisation had changed more than the economy. Satellite television, advertising, music videos, fashion magazines and international travel brought global visual culture into ordinary homes.
Also Read: Tired Of Scrolling OTT? Watch These 8 Amazing Films On YouTube For Free
Indian cinema absorbed it.
Beach holidays, swimming pools and foreign locations became familiar cinematic settings. The bikini no longer necessarily represented rebellion. It could simply represent glamour, freedom, affluence or a character's modern lifestyle.
By the time actresses such as Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Bipasha Basu and Deepika Padukone appeared in beachwear on screen, the costume had become part of mainstream commercial cinema's visual vocabulary.
But there was a catch. Indian society had not necessarily travelled the same distance.
The controversy surrounding Deepika Padukone's saffron bikini in 'Pathaan' (2023) demonstrated this complicated relationship. The dispute was not simply about a bikini. Objections centred particularly on the colour of the costume and its use in the song 'Besharam Rang', with critics alleging that it offended religious sentiments.
The episode showed how clothing in Indian cinema can still become a proxy for much larger arguments about culture, religion and public morality.
And that is perhaps the most revealing part of this nearly nine-decade journey. The bikini itself changed very little. What changed was the meaning attached to it.
In 1938, it was an unusual screen image. In the 1960s, it could become a national controversy. In the 1970s and 1980s, it became increasingly connected with the glamour of the new-age heroine. After liberalisation, it became part of a globalised commercial aesthetic. Today, it can be an ordinary film costum.
Also Read: Flowers, Curtains And Kisses: Here's The Long Journey Of Lip-Lock In Indian Cinema
Yet the periodic controversies surrounding actresses and their clothing show that ordinary on screen does not necessarily mean universally accepted off screen.
Indian cinema has therefore completed one part of the journey. It has made the bikini familiar. Indian society is still deciding what it wants that familiarity to mean.
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