Page 38 - Seniorstoday March 2023
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sixties in which she donned a two piece. debut- Bobby. A picture of innocence, yet
It was sheer boldness and a well rounded her bikini scene set temperatures soaring.
(no pun intended) and jaunty attitude that Dimple much later repeated the bikini act
held the bikini shoot together for Madame in Saagar and Jaanbaaz as well. The titan
Tagore. For those who’ve seen the pictures, Raj Kapoor always had a penchant for
it has remained unforgettable! showing generous amounts of skin with
The industry’s most loved vamp was his heroines. He created scenes for them.
Helen, who was a perfect cabaret dancer, Think Mandakini (Ram Teri Ganga Maili),
and was cast in numerous films for the Simi Garewal (Mera Naam Joker, and she
sheer allure of her dances. Kind of the also had Siddhartha- both where she did
first one to immortalise what later became a full monty). Times were very different.
known as item songs. To her credit she can With top notch or famous directors, these
never be accused of vulgarity. She was a parades were called works of art. Maybe
dream dancer! Her costumes never really they were done tastefully, where the nudity
overshadowed her coquettish charm. itself was not the primary focus.
Clothing like hot pants, cleavage revealing
sheer gowns etc. were the desired attire
given to the vamps or item girls in the
eighties- actresses like Aruna Irani, Padma
Khanna, Kalpana Iyer, and Bindu. Item
songs were here to stay. The nineties
brought in our golden girls- Aishwarya Rai
and Sushmita Sen, jubilant with freshly
earned crowns in the international arena.
Well, they had to do a swimwear round
Dimple, Zeenat & Sharmila were some of the hotties of the too, for the contests, while the whole world
70s & 80s watched them on television. Somewhere
The seventies and eighties saw the entry around this time was wrought the change
of actresses like Zeenat Aman and Parveen in audiences’ mindsets, that it was neither
Babi, girls who were already westernised indecent nor immodest for the girls to sport
in attitude and dress sense, a long way off beachwear etc on screen.
from the demure six yard draped leading
ladies. Zeenat was the hottest thing on Priyanka Chopra sizzles
the beach in Feroz Khan’s Qurbani. Not The new millennium saw a surge of female
to forget her scantily clad tribal act in talent hit the silver screen. And a surge in
Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram. bikini wearing heroines. From Bipasha
Feroz Khan’s films almost invariably had Basu (Jism, Race, Bachna Ae Haseeno, and
a beach and bikini scene for his heroines. Dhoom 2) to Priyanka Chopra (Andaaz,
The classy and elegant Parveen Babi Fashion and Dostana), Preity Zinta
too was simply beautiful in a bikini in (Soldier), Lara Dutta (Blue) and more.
Yeh Nazdeekiyan. There was the fresh Sherlyn Chopra sheds her clothes in all
sensational Lovely Laxmi in Julie. And the films she does, yet is not known as an
yes, who can forget Dimple Kapadia in her actress. She’s like an older ‘been there done
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