Objectifying women is wrong. BUT! If an entire image is carefully crafted, with the full participation of the model, to evoke sexuality, they we aren’t objectifying, we are talking about Art. You’ll see, these aren’t like “oo, I can see her breast” photos, these are classic elaborate really beautiful images. But which is the BEST?
Madhubala, famous publicity still
Or her casual Life Magazine shoot
Sharmilaji’s famous Bikini shot
Helen
Rekha black and white and younger
Older, Simple
Post 50
Parveen Babi
Zeenat Aman
Mandakini
Sridevi in Chaalbaaz
Sridevi Chandni
Sridevi Mr India
Silk Smitha
Madhuri Tezaab Era
Madhuri Choli Ke Peeche
Rani Mukherjee Aiyyaa
Aishwarya Rai Ishq Kameena
Vidya
So far as I am concerned, there is no contest. Silk’s photo is like an electric shock while the others are static electricity.
But let me know your vote! And if I missed an iconic shot, I know I must have, just drop it in the comments (find the image online, right click and select “copy image address”, then come back to your comment and paste it in separated by a line from the rest of the text)
I think Mandakini’s photo definitely falls under “objectification” (read the background to how that still and that song came about), and probably that black and white photo of young Rekha as well.
Agree that the sexiest photo is that of Silk Smitha. The rest, precisely because they were so carefully crafted, don’t have any “sexy” vibe to them at all. I have seen Sridevi looking very sexy in movies (which is also a “crafted image”), but you have picked all her “innocence” type of pics. Mere lack of clothing doesn’t make a woman sexy. Similarly I have seen Madhuri in films where she has been very sexy. Aishwarya, on the other hand, has never looked sexy to me, only try hard, and that whole Ishq Kamina song is a great example of it.
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From the “Crafted image” versus “natural” side, I would argue that Madhubala’s second photo is also a good example of natural sexiness.
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 9:17 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You know who you have missed? Waheeda! and also Mumtaz. You probably think of Waheeda as “dignified”, but in her heyday she was quite sexy when required, without disrobing at all. It was all in her eyes. Another is young Jaya. With all these people, the sexiness was achieved by their acting, not their wardrobe choices.
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It’s so hard to find still photos! A sign of how they are best as film actors I suppose, they really come alive in motion. If you can find a good photo of Waheeda or Mumtaz, please please add it to the comments. I did try with Waheeda, but all I could find was these very elegant shots that looked like classical paintings.
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 9:19 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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You are totally right, that Silk Smitha picture is actually sexy, not just objectification sexy. After that, it’s a weird four way tie for me between Zeenat and Sridevi’s dance pictures, Rani, and Vidya. But honestly that’s not really about the pictures but more about how sexy i find them.
I always thought Zeenat looked great in that song but her bra tops look SO uncomfortable and definitely are leaving red marks, so that always distracts me.
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Oh my gosh, bra tops! This song is super fun, but the poor dancer’s bra is so poorly fitted I can’t stand it:
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 9:35 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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That’s terrible. I guess the advantage is that they are FIRMLY strapped down.
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Yes, but OUCH!
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 9:41 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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The first Madhubala shot she just looks so glamorous ❤ Like Lauren Bacall. (I don't think she actually looks like Lauren Bacall but that same era/vibe). And Rani from Aiyaa, or Vidya because I love it when they show actresses with a little belly and not photoshopping them to hell. So much more real and still just stunning
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The vote in my office was for Vidya, so she might be the winner. Although those Madhubala shots are really amazing.
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 10:26 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Madhubala posed and Vidya are my faves. I don’t mid sexy being slightly planned!
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Madhubala posed is such a gorgeous shot, like you could frame it and hang it on the wall as an art print.
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 10:45 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I am going with Rekha. She has the confidence and fully owns her sexiness. Second choice would be Madhubala because the photos capture her natural flirtiness, and she looks like she is enjoying herself.
Least sexy is probably Madhuri. I absolutely love Madhuri, but to me, she is sweet and fun but not really sexy.
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Ah, but which Rekha?
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 11:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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All the Rekhas! I love that in the first two, she literally just has to stare at the camera to be sexy and in the last one, I love that she is posing in a tiny towel post 50!
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madhubala is just amazingly beautiful! Like the Marilyn Monroe of India.
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Silk smitha has a Sheila ki jiwani, “I’m too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hurts”, kind of sexiness. It could almost be described as feminist, as in, she’d make the same expression even if men ceased to exist. The others either embody the “beautiful not sexy” madonna-whore dichotomy or else the male-directed female-sex-kitten temptress aesthetic. Whereas silk smitha, at least in this photo, challenges men, maybe even intimidates them, instead of catering to them. I personally find that very confidently sexy, even aspirational, and apparently enough men agree, considering her career success. It makes me sad that she’s no longer alive, we need more women like her on this planet.
P.S. I don’t “get” Madhubala as a beauty icon. I know that’s blasphemous to admit. Maybe it’s just the aesthetic of her era vs ours. Maybe it’s that she straddles the line btwn “passing for white/euro” while still retaining some south Asian aesthetic. She’s lovely, but certainly not the epitome of anything except extremely fair skin imo.
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Wow, that get-up almost manages to make Zeenat look not sexy.
I have to admit, the wet look on Vidya gets to me on some very primal level. But simple Rekha is at least second place.
I prefer simple in general. Like, I’m a Rani fan, but this dressed up picture of her does little for me.
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I couldn’t find a simple photo of Rani, which is too bad. I think she thinks she has to dress up to be sexy
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 3:05 PM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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