Pooja Bhatt In the 1990s he was one of the most significant and unconventional voices in Bollywood, often making headlines for his bold choices and honest opinions. Among the most talked about moments of her career was her body paint magazine cover shoot, inspired by it. Demi MooreThe famous Vanity Fair cover.Although the picture created a storm at the time, Pooja now says that the intention behind the shoot was never to invite controversy.In a recent interview with Vickey Lalwani, the actor reflects on the iconic photoshoot, the public’s reaction and the misconceptions surrounding it.
“Demi Moore looked great”
Pooja revealed that the idea for the shoot came after journalist Dinesh Raheja introduced Demi Moore on the cover of the famous magazine.“I got a lot of criticism from one section of people and a lot of love from another. But for me, it was never designed to be controversial,” he said.Recalling the meeting, she added, “Dinesh Raheja, a journalist I still have a lot of respect for, showed me the Vanity Fair cover featuring Demi Moore. Jeetu and Dinesh came to meet me and said, ‘Pooja, look at this cover.’ I thought it was amazing. Demi Moore looked great. They said they wanted to recreate something similar and asked if I would do it. “Sure.” When I asked who would do the body painting, I was told Anna Singh.“
The shooting happened after the shooting of Tere Dar Par Sanam
The actor shared that the photoshoot was done after a long day of shooting for the song Tere Dar Par Sanam from Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee.“I was shooting the song Tere Dar Par Sanam from Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee. I finished work around 9.30 pm and then went to Jagdish Mali’s house. They painted me and we did the shoot. After that, I completely forgot about it,” he recalled.According to Pooja, the real frenzy started after the magazine cover was published.“The magazine came out and there was crap. But then an unfortunate event happened in the city. One of the most horrific tragedies happened: bomb blasts. Obviously, people had much more important things to worry about than a woman who chose to paint her body.”
“We knew exactly where the line was”
Countering speculations that she posed naked for the shoot, Pooja clarified that she was not naked in the picture.“I wasn’t naked in the photo. In the case of Demi Moore, the cover mentioned ‘birthday suit’, which meant she was naked under the paint. I wasn’t. I was wearing underwear because we knew exactly where the line was and we decided not to cross it,” he said.Pooja admitted that the image might have seemed bold for her time but insisted that it was never done with the aim of creating outrage.“I suppose it was brave and unthinkable for a lot of people. But I just did it because I liked the idea that was presented to me. I trusted the people I was working with and I went ahead with it. The idea was never going to be controversial. It was just me being my true self.”
“Truth itself has become controversial today”
Reflecting on the lasting legacy of the cover, Pooja said she finds it amazing that people are still discussing the image decades later.“Very recently, it came up again and people started calling it a cult image. But you can’t create something like that by design. I was just being the real me. The problem is that we live in a world full of lies, so the truth itself has become controversial these days.”The memorable photo was taken for Movie magazine. Designer Anna Singh handled the body paint, while renowned photographer Jagdish Mali captured the now iconic image.
