The title of the piece comes out rather like “Harry potter and the sorcerer’s stone” etc, but I couldn’t think of a better one. Ms Sherawat actually used that phrase, to my surprise, in an episode of Coffee with Karan. I am writing this because I admire her. I am sure most readers don’t need an introduction to Ms S. In my own case I had heard of her and her famous assets in the media but did not yet recognise her by face. Till one day while watching the Pepsi snake-wala advert (SRK plays Mr Been, snake charmer) , I asked someone who the girl was and was told it was none other than Ms S.
I still haven’t seen her epoch-making and debut(?) movies Murder and Khwahish. In fact I have seen only one movie of hers, “Pyaar Ke Side Effects”. I guess just like many starlets and successful heroines, she must have been compelled to realize early, that in Bollywood, unless you came with a famous second name, the only way for a woman to get ahead was to smooch and bare her body on screen. And she did that, with some success. But that’s where the twist comes in. Once she became successful and sought after, she did not once apologise about baring her skin or smooching. She said it like it was, and all credit to her.
Not for her the coy, cringing response that is almost a stock phrase for many young newcomers (famous second names included) “I will bare if the scene demands it.” And the scene always seems to demand it, even if the woman is playing an office clerk. Then I saw her on some show, perhaps The Big Fight on NDTV. As was expected, the anchor took a dig at her baring her way to the top (or topless). While she was understandably a bit tense, but the brave lass, stood her ground and never once made an excuse. I have seen only one of her movies, and that’s Pyaar ke Side Effects. She did a very competent job there.
But it was while watching the Coffee with Karan show that I heard her use the phrase “the tyranny of taste” and I was truly impressed. I am not an anglophile, but I think its better to be an educated Sherawat than an uneducated bimbette even if you have a famous second name. And so it came to me as no surprise that Ms S is a graduate of the well known college Miranda House in Delhi. Two famous alumni are film-maker Mira Nair and political activist Brinda Karat. May the force be with you, Ms S !!
I still haven’t seen her epoch-making and debut(?) movies Murder and Khwahish. In fact I have seen only one movie of hers, “Pyaar Ke Side Effects”. I guess just like many starlets and successful heroines, she must have been compelled to realize early, that in Bollywood, unless you came with a famous second name, the only way for a woman to get ahead was to smooch and bare her body on screen. And she did that, with some success. But that’s where the twist comes in. Once she became successful and sought after, she did not once apologise about baring her skin or smooching. She said it like it was, and all credit to her.
Not for her the coy, cringing response that is almost a stock phrase for many young newcomers (famous second names included) “I will bare if the scene demands it.” And the scene always seems to demand it, even if the woman is playing an office clerk. Then I saw her on some show, perhaps The Big Fight on NDTV. As was expected, the anchor took a dig at her baring her way to the top (or topless). While she was understandably a bit tense, but the brave lass, stood her ground and never once made an excuse. I have seen only one of her movies, and that’s Pyaar ke Side Effects. She did a very competent job there.
But it was while watching the Coffee with Karan show that I heard her use the phrase “the tyranny of taste” and I was truly impressed. I am not an anglophile, but I think its better to be an educated Sherawat than an uneducated bimbette even if you have a famous second name. And so it came to me as no surprise that Ms S is a graduate of the well known college Miranda House in Delhi. Two famous alumni are film-maker Mira Nair and political activist Brinda Karat. May the force be with you, Ms S !!
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