Pooja Bhatt was one of the most outspoken and unconventional voices in Bollywood during the 1990s, often making headlines for her bold choices and candid opinions. Among the most talked-about moments of her career was her body paint magazine cover shoot, inspired by Demi Moore’s famous Vanity Fair cover.Though the image created a storm at the time, Pooja now says the intention behind the shoot was never to invite controversy.In a recent conversation with Vickey Lalwani, the actress looked back on the iconic photoshoot, the public reaction it received and the misconceptions that surrounded it.
‘Demi Moore looked glorious’
Pooja revealed that the idea for the shoot came after journalist Dinesh Raheja introduced her to Demi Moore’s celebrated magazine cover.“I received a lot of flak from one section of people and a lot of love from another. But for me, it was never designed to be controversial,” she said.Recalling the meeting, she added, “Dinesh Raheja, a journalist for whom I still have a great deal of respect, showed me the cover of Vanity Fair featuring Demi Moore. Jeetu and Dinesh came to meet me and said, ‘Pooja, look at this cover.’ I thought it was stunning. Demi Moore looked glorious. They said they wanted to recreate something similar and asked if I would do it. I said, ‘Sure.’ When I asked who would do the body painting, they said Anna Singh would.”
The shoot happened after filming Tere Dar Par Sanam
The actress shared that the photoshoot took place after a long day of shooting for the song Tere Dar Par Sanam from Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee.“I was shooting for 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,” she recalled.According to Pooja, the real frenzy began only after the magazine cover was published.“The magazine came out and there was mayhem. But then an unfortunate incident took place in the city. One of the most horrific tragedies happened — the bomb blasts. Naturally, people had far more important things to worry about than a woman who had chosen to paint her body.”
‘We knew exactly where the line was’
Addressing assumptions that she posed nude for the shoot, Pooja clarified that she was not naked in the photograph.“I was not naked in the photograph. In Demi Moore’s case, the cover referred to a ‘birthday suit’, which meant she was naked underneath the paint. I was not. I was wearing underwear because we knew exactly where the line was and we chose not to cross it,” she said.Pooja admitted that the image may have appeared daring for its time but insisted it was never done with the aim of creating outrage.“I suppose it was audacious and unthinkable for many people. But I simply did it because I liked the idea that was presented to me. I trusted the people I was working with and went ahead with it. The idea was never to be controversial. It was just me being my authentic self.”
‘Truth itself has become controversial today’
Reflecting on the enduring legacy of the cover, Pooja said she finds it surprising that people still discuss the image decades later.“Very recently, it was brought up again and people started calling it a cult image. But you can’t create something like that by design. I was simply being my authentic self. The problem is that we are living in a world full of lies, so truth itself has become controversial today.”The memorable photograph was shot for Movie magazine. Designer Anna Singh handled the body painting, while noted photographer Jagdish Mali captured the now-iconic image.