Sharmila Tagore opened up on her controversial bikini shoot in 1966

When talking about the Bollywood beauties of the 60s, the name of Sharmila Tagore pops up as an unconventional diva. She got a lot of backlash for doing a bikini shoot back in1966. Well, now the veteran beauty is opening about the controversial photoshoot and the response that she received.

The bikini photoshoot being talked about was done in 1966 for Filmfare magazine. In the picture she could be seen in a black and white bikini. She was among the first Bollywood actress to go that revealing in front of the cameras. Even the photographer back then asked her if she was sure about it.

In an interview, she recalled the incident and opened about it and said, “My life choices, looking back, have been unconventional. Like the bikini shot for Filmfare, that people don’t ever let me forget.”

She continued, “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.”