Mon, Mar 21, 2005 - Page 16 News List

Bollywood 'skin flicks' bomb at box office

Indian movies are traditionally circumspect and this attitude shows few signs of changing

AFP , Bombay, India

After Murder, other sex-themed movies like Julie, the lesbian-themed Girlfriend and Tauba Tauba [Pardon Me], a story of a young college student falling for his teacher, performed well at the box office late last year.

"All these movies had some story line and large shock value ... so to that extent it worked, but the movies made so far this year on these themes are just nude shows. Last year nudity was new, but not now," said analyst Mehra.

What the new movies have done, however, is to bring sex scenes into mainstream Indian cinema.

"Explicit sexual scenes have become part of our films simply because our audiences have come of age," said filmmaker Deepak Shivdasani. "Roses and ducks will not do any more, audiences want the real thing."

Historically, Indian cinema had shown strong aversion to explicit sex with candyfloss romances largely depicting love scenes by way of two roses or two ducks kissing each other in a pond or a strong fire burning in the background -- a symbol of rising passions.

While the new movies are bolder, the censors have also become more liberal, Mehra said.

"The censor which traditionally was ready to chop and cut at the slightest sexy scene is now very liberal," he said.

This story has been viewed 16268 times.
TOP top