Bodies Baring it all in Bollywood By Rosalie Leung After the release of Pooja Bhatt’s box office hit “Jism” in 2002, bare skin has become a popular trend in the Mumbai film industry. Now, these so-called “skin flicks” are no longer considered so trashy. In fact, many of the most important people in the industry, from lead actors to well-known directors and producers have begun taking part in the newest trend. Producer Suneel Darshan approves of the bare skin trend stating, “Stars spend hours working out, have enviable physiques, so why shouldn’t they show it on screen?” In his last film “Talaash”, Suneel included a sauna scene where actor Akshay Kumar can be seen nearly naked. In the recent film “Andaz”, Suneel decided to push bare skin to its limits, including shots of Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta naked on the African sea shores. Producer Boney Kapoor has also been riding the bare skin wave. After pressure from distributors, he decided to include some “titillating masala” in his film “Khushi”. Like the Darshan brothers, Kapoor’s recent releases are a far cry from the more conservative flicks of previous years, but as stated by Suneel, the increase in nudity in the films are not personal choices or preferences but simply “A sign of the times.” say they are only producing these types of movies because of the increasing demand by consumers. Some members of the film industry however, are worried about the effects of these “skin flicks” and even opposed to their entrance into the market. Director Hansal Mehta thinks that the new bare skin trend in movies may cost the industry its “family audience.” In his last film “Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai”, Mehta decided not to include any bare skin stating, “One can address adult concerns without getting blatant.” Traditional Indian audiences are also opposed to the new trend. For many traditional Indian families, bare skin is especially unacceptable since the Indian culture is a culture that is mostly conservative about matters of sex. Many believe that baring skin may encourage promiscuous, overly sexual behavior. Since the start of the trend, opposition has grown increasingly violent and radical. In fact, the steamy nude scenes in the new British funded film “Ek Choti Si” starring Manisha Koirala caused so much controversy that the enraged conservatives of the Shiv Sena decided to attack cinemas in Bombay showing the movie. The activists broke windows and doors and ripped down posters. Courts finally decided to ban the film from being shown. Although some conservatives oppose and even act out against the bare skin trend in movies, the film industry and its audience has mostly been responding positively to Western values and themes. This movement towards Western values however, has meant the pushing of traditional Indian values by the wayside. The recent film “Leela” by filmmaker Somnath Sen directly confronts the issue of clashing values and beliefs between eastern and western cultures. In the film, Kapadia plays Leela, a professor at an American university who struggles to balance her Indian background with her American lifestyle. By the end of the movie, Leela’s love for music helps to bridge the gap between the east and the west. In reality however, the differences between the east and the west cannot be so easily resolved. In this increasingly westernized world, liberal values and ideas are not going to go away any time soon. Thus, although the film industry continues to produce movies with traditional Indian values, they will also produce westernized films as long as they are in demand. So for now, the Indian film industry must include the west and the east, and include both skin baring and sari-wearing heroines. Read more about how current filmmakers are pushing the bare skin trend in India in an interview with Sanja F. Gupta