Sharmila Tagore Is The ‘Bikini Queen’ Of Bollywood Starting The Trend In 1966 With A Bold Photoshoot, Check Out! ( Photo Credit – Wikipedia )
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Bollywood has changed a lot over the years. Actors-actresses and models have brought several trends that changed the course of fashion and over the years. One of the significant shifts in fashion around the world was the bikini. The entry of bikinis in Bollywood dates back to the 1960s and the credit goes to Sharmila Tagore.
The veteran actress was a pioneer of the bikini trend with her bold photoshoot. Her contemporaries in the film industry then followed the suit. She was well known for her unconventional choices.
Sharmila Tagore, who made her debut in Bollywood with Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), created quite a stir when she did a special photoshoot for Filmfare wearing a two-piece bikini for the August 1966 issue. As per the magazine’s report, the actress only took two minutes to change but the face of magazine covers changed forever. She wore the skimpiest of clothes with amazing grace.
Sharmila Tagore also spoke about the controversial bikini shoot during a conversation with the magazine. She said, “Oh! God, how conservative our society was back then! I’ve no idea why I did that shoot. It was just before I got married. I remember when I showed the two-piece bikini to the photographer, he asked me, ‘Are you sure about this?’ In some of the shots, he even asked me to cover my body. He was more worried than I was but I had no qualms doing that shoot. Only when people started reacting strongly to the cover, was I taken aback. I was puzzled as to why they didn’t like the picture. I thought I looked nice. Some called it a deliberate move to grab eyeballs; others termed me as ‘astutely uncanny’. I hated that. Maybe, there was an exhibitionist in me, as I was young and excited to do something different.”
Sharmila Tagore even donned a sky-blue coloured one-piece swimsuit for the 1967 film An Evening In Paris. She was paired opposite Shammi Kapoor and the film was helmed by Shakti Samanta.
