In Pics: Most Controversial posters and photoshoots

Kareena Kapoor’s bareback poster pasted across the city created quite a controversy recently with a political party making a fuss over it. However from times immemorial the moral police have always had objections with such poster and photo-shoots which they have been condemning over the years. Listing down a few posters or photo-shoots that have come under the scanner...

Mamta Kulkarni on the cover of Stardust: She was the reigning sex symbol of the 1990’s who became the talk of the town and gained popularity when she appeared on the cover of Stardust film magazine with her arms across her breasts in the September issue of 1993. While the film magazine was lapped up like hot cakes, the actress had to face legal action from the Indian court of law apart from the pressure that was put by various moral police groups. But Mamta wasn’t one who was going to take anything lying down. She gave as good as she got and called everyone concerned a hypocrite. Finally Mamta Kulkarni had to shell out Rs 15000 after she was convicted in July 2000. Till today her picture on the covers has been treated as one of the most sensational things to have happened in the Indian film industry.

Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre in Tuff ad campaign:

This was the first time that model Madhu Sapre posed nude but it wasn’t something new for supermodel Milind Soman who had taken off his clothes in front of the camera a few times before the Tuff shoe ad campaign in July 1995. With only a thick skinned python separating their bare bodies, Milind and Madhu who happened to be dating during that period had no issues getting close for comfort.

It didn’t take long for the ad to fall into deep trouble and with the Shiv Sena protesting loud and hard the court was forced to ban the ad campaign on the whole. The posters and hoardings of the ad too were not spared and were all taken down. It certainly wasn’t a happy ending for Milind and Madhu Sapre.

Pooja Bhatt spray paints body and smooches Mahesh Bhatt:

Demi Moore was the original diva from Hollywood who painted herself nude to appear on a magazine cover. And then our very own Pooja Bhatt got inspired by Moore and compromised herself and her body to allow herself to be spray-painted for a similar look and get-up for an Indian magazine. The only glaring difference being that unlike Demi Moore, Pooja Bhatt wasn’t nine months pregnant. The whole act was possible after Pooja sat through four hours of spray painting.

Not only did Pooja create a stir with her bare body painting, she also shocked one and all when she smooched her father, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt for a magazine cover. Pooja Bhatt rewrote the relationship between a father and a daughter in that one moment between the two of them.

Mallika Sherawat in Kis Kis Ki Kismat: Controversy has forever dogged Mallika Sherawat wherever she went. Be it for her acts in films (kissing Himanshu Malik 17 times in Khwahish or getting cozy with Emraan Hashmi in Murder ) or for her publicity stunts that she so effectively executes during the release of her films. Kis Kis Ki Kismat was no different except that it was a photograph that caused such uproar in Bollywood. Wearing a bright red dress that hits you right in the eye, Mallika was so engrossed during the photo-shoot that the actress did not notice that her white panties were being filmed at the same time. Whether it was something that happened by chance or whether Mallika had strategically done it to garner publicity for the film by recreating a Marilyn Monroe pose, we’ll never know but she surely did a good job of it.

Neha Dhupia goes backless in Julie

The photograph itself seems to be suggesting that Neha Dhupia wasn’t entirely comfortable posing for the movie poster. But she had no choice as Neha had already signed a contract with director of Julie , Deepak Shivdasani and producer Bablu Pachisia which stated that Neha would in no way have any kind of objection to posing in skimpy shootings for the promotion and the shooting of the movie. The director-producer duo took this step after they witnessed Shashilal K Nair’s film Ek Chotisi Love Story falling into trouble after lead actress Manisha Koirala accused Nair of using a body double for a few nude shots in the film.

But Neha Dhupia seemed to have no problems signing on the dotted line for Julie and to give this exotic shot as well.



Shilpa Shetty & Reema Sen’s obscene pictures:

At times controversies come uncalled for or perhaps when you are expecting the least. That happened to actresses Shilpa Shetty and Reema Sen who were blamed of corrupting young minds when some of their pictures appeared in ‘Tamil Murasu’, a regional newspaper. While the pictures were quite passable considering Bollywood standards of recent times, an advocate from South alleged that the paper included obscene photographs of the two actresses which were apparently ‘sexy blow ups’ and ‘mediocre posters’ in their own right. Although the photographs were printed in the newspaper last December and January, the petitioner claimed that the content contained violent and harmful material not suitable for readers.

Both Shilpa and Reema did not give the trivial issue undue importance and let time take its own course. This one was passed off as a case where the accuser tried to create a controversy and gain some publicity for himself.

Neha Dhupia’s poster in film Utthan:

Neha Dhupia has done bold films and bolder scenes in those films as well but Neha may never have prepared herself for what befell her while filming the now unknown movie Utthan which was to be produced by acclaimed playback singer Kumar Sanu. The film had Neha Dhupia and her Julie co-star Priyanshu Chatterjee in lead roles but what was disturbing were the posters of the film which saw Neha exposing much more flesh than what was necessary.

Neha later distanced herself from the film and its publicity that was more than understandable. The film today has been lost in pages


Shamita Shetty sans underwear

Shamita, the little sister of Shilpa Shetty, has always lived under her sister’s shadow until her picture was splashed all over the media for all the wrong reasons. In an event organized by the Bhatts in Mumbai she was clicked by the paparazzi in a wrong pose. Was this her ‘Basic Instinct’?

The photograph in itself speaks so many things that we find ourselves at a loss of words to describe. But she did give the shutterbugs at the event a lot to look forward to as well as to click.




Mandira Bedi flagged:

Mandira Bedi always came across as a cricket crazy fan but this time she took her frenzy for the game a bit too far when she hosted a cricket show during the 2006 cricket World Cup wearing a sari that sported the Indian tricolor in the wrong way. Our country has now made it legal to wear the Indian flag on any clothing but much to Mandira’s dismay the flag on her sari was below the waist. In fact it was very close to her feet which is what infuriated fans and officials alike.

Mandira has courted controversies earlier too when once she depicted a religious tattoo and then on another occasion the television anchor wore a sari that showed ample cleavage. What made this offence even more sad was that Mandira Bedi had the flag of Pakistan on her bare right shoulder.