Indians speak the Naked Truth
Love it or hate it...but you can't ignore it. Nudity certainly touches a raw nerve with most Indians.
Love it or hate it...but you can't ignore it. Nudity certainly touches a raw nerve with most Indians.
"Nudity when lyrical and abstract is beautiful - I think nudity per se depends on the sensibility of the artist. For example the description of the sexual act in literature is more in the mind and head and as such is abstract. This makes it much more beautiful than concrete depiction of the act.
Nudity should not be confused with titillation - since cinema is a concrete medium I am at a loss to figure out what and where one makes an act of nudity from an aesthetic piece of art to obscene voyeurism. For example when extreme graphic acts of violence can be shown then one wonders what is more gruesome. I feel the misuse of nudity as a means to titillate for pure commercial purposes has to be stopped because it trivialises the whole issue.
I am against censorship of nudity - personally I am against censorship of any kind. There should be a system of rating which should be exercised. When pornographic DVDs are available for all and sundry to buy then what censorship are we talking about?
Let the public decide what is obscene and what is aesthetic. There's a warning printed on every cigarette pack - 'Smoking is injurious to health' - but the choice whether or not to smoke still lies with the consumer. Likewise, I am of the opinion that as long as you tell people what your cinema is about, it should be left to them to decide if they want to see the film or not."
- Sudhir Mishra, director
"I feel nudity has never been fully acceptable in India and that applies to cinema as well. It is there moderately and times are changing when we might see a more open society. But it will surely take a long time for Indian cinema to emulate Hollywood and open its doors to full frontal nudity.
Indian culture has certain values and norms to cater to and plays the guiding force in all walks of life. Cinema is no exception to the rule. Some ten years back one could not even discuss the subject as openly as we do nowadays. It was always spoken of in hushed tones. And we still have a long way to go before we can talk of doing a film with nude scenes. People may like to think sex sells, but please remember that films relying too much on exposure have also fallen flat at the box office. This just proves that an overdose of sex isn't acceptable to the Indian public.
Someday I would definitely like to shoot nude scenes. But as of now, I don't know when such scenes will become acceptable in Bollywood. I think it will all depend on how you show nudity on screen. As a director I will have to make sure that it doesn't appear titillating. Also I can't portray nudity in the name of acceptability and requirement of the script. Personally would want to ensure that it is placed correctly and shot aesthetically."
- Madhur Bhandarkar, director