Ranveer Singh’s nude photoshoot adds to the narrative of his iconic status

A movie star has posed naked. Ranveer Singh , the drama king of Hindi cinema has posed nude for Paper magazine, an international celebrity magazine that has a knack for quirky, eye catching covers. It also either, has a soft spot for Indian exports to Hollywood, with both Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone on its cover; or it is simply a global magazine that Indian film publicists and allied entourage of stars can work with. In the end, it’s a celebrity magazine catering to a niche of news readership. The photoshoot created brouhaha across India, with  a FIR lodged by an NGO against him on obscenity charges in Mumbai,  a complaint from a female lawyer  at a Mumbai police station, again on offenses against culture etc; and loads of incoherent morality and culture toned babble on social media. Some donated clothes to Singh at Indore; others , including those going to the police, fretted over offensive influences on children, and also the modesty of women. As of now Singh is fair game to the morality brigade across India, with loud protests against his choice to go nude. This whole business of moral uproar, while easy to build and create, is wasteful. Firstly, he is not the first Indian actor to go nude. Aamir Khan, a national icon, went naked for his role as an alien in PK! Milind Soman, India’s first male supermodel, sported  a pair of shoes with a snake, and nothing else with Madhu Sapre, also a supermodel. This was in 1995. Their photo prompted SRK to chirp, Madhu Sapre Kam Kapde, at a film awards function as part of his hosting jokes. Not many threw a fit, and no one took up cudgels for women’s sentiments, or defence of India’s morality. But that was then. Times have changed. We live in a high-strung, cantankerous age of social media clamour that has drowned out sane discourse across politics, economy, art, cinema and every other field. While some friends and co-stars have spoken in his favour- Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor, wife Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor- most of the bigger influences of Bollywood are silent. That a single opinion can lead to endless amounts of social media trolling keeps people from the film industry away from taking a stand. And the Hindi film industry has never been known to speak up on anything of interest, unless it directly affects them.  Swara Bhaskar called out the FIR , and surprisingly, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, an avowed Right wing man, also called it ‘stupid’. But the moot issue here is the matter of an FIR being put on on charges of offending sentiments of women when a man drops his clothes. Nude photos of women populate the Internet, child filter notwithstanding. There is a whole metaverse out there which is actually engaging in shocking virtual sexual crimes against women, and men. And while it might surprise many, a section of millenials do tend to use graphic photos, sometimes nude ones too, as dating currency on dating sites. Why Ranveer Singh posing nude would be singularly targeted for offensive is obvious- it gives those screaming for attention a few minutes in the news cycle spotlight. But it also wastes precious time and resources of the Indian courts and police. We have one of the worst records of judicial clearance and our record of law and order is not excellent either. When the police should focus on clearing up real crime, these ridiculous police complaints amount to poor utility of understaffed resources. It is simply the lack of realization that actors tend to thrive on exhibitionism. What has now become the norm, airport looks, is a solid example of that. When a regular human being gets off a long distance international flight, he/she looks worse for wear and exhausted. When Hindi movie stars get off aircraft- domestic or international- a chunk of them look like they spent considerable time over make up, outfits and accessories. More often than not, one wonders, how on earth do high heels (in whatever new fancy name they might be called now) are a good choice for air travel especially for women who probably own a closet of shoes. And Ranveer Singh epitomises exhibitionism. He owns it. Proudly. Look at his sartorial choices. Most find them shocking, like Saif Ali Khan had cheekily said on a previous season of Koffee with Karan, they could trigger an accident for someone on the street. Others find them fashion forward, quirky and brave. It doesn’t just end with his clothes. Singh’s personality is genuinely out there. He is energetic, verbose and often so pumped up at live events that audiences get infected by his energy. He is also a very fine, versatile actor- perhaps the most well rounded performer of his generation in Hindi cinema. If film insider reports are to be believed, Singh, a versatile actor, might soon be shooting for an international project with an action star. The Paper magazine cover says, Ranveer Singh, the last superstar of Bollywood. Already he is amongst the most popular brand ambassadors of India, minting money with ads and endorsements. If anything the noise plays into the narrative that Singh is a first of its kind, unmatched movie icon of our generation. His naked photoshoot doesn’t offend anyone. What does is the mindless publicity that such controversies provide to nurture fluff and star driven narratives that benefit none but one. Archita Kashyap is an experienced journalist and writer on film, music, and pop culture. She has handled entertainment content for broadcast news and digital platforms over 15 years.  Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.