New Delhi: Why hasn’t there been any outrage to Aamir Khan posing naked on the poster of ‘PK’ yet? Isn’t it surprising that an actor of Aamir Khan’s stature has posed nude for a poster and yet, knowing the way our society works, people are heaping the actor with compliments instead of questioning his morality?
The poster of Rajkumar Hirani’s highly anticipated film was released late Thursday night on various social networking sites and surprisingly received positive feed back from the the actor’s fans. There were of course some tongue-in-cheek humour here and there but most lauded the risk that the superstar has taken in his new film.
Now lets see. What if we place any leading actress in the same poster, posing exactly like Khan has. Are you thinking of terms like FIRS, PILS, protests, character assassination almost instantly? Yes?
In a society which is riddled by what is to be accepted in these modern times and what is to be shunned, in most cases the rules are only restricted to the fairer sex. If a Poonam Pandey or Sherlyn Chopra appears nude on a poster- we are quick to label them as ‘B-Grade’ starlets. If a Katrina Kaif or Vidya Balan show even a bit cleavage on a film’s poster- we label them as ‘gutsy’ and ‘bold’.
But when a leading super star poses nude holding a transistor very strategically, the same ‘junta’ praises the actor and looks forward to the film. His morality is not questioned. Neither does his image of a righteous citizen gets marred in any way. Because you know, he is the perfectionist and just playing a part well.
While it is refreshing to see Bollywood come of age and have the ability to experiment with striking themes in film posters, it is also disappointing to observe the double standards we as a society have. Male nudity is almost always looked through. It is never discussed or debated. In the past actors like John Abraham, Rajkummar Rao and Neil Nitin Mukesh have all appeared nude in films- because the script demanded it. No issue was ever raised. But the reactions seemed to be drastically different when a woman does it. Always.
Aamir Khan is known for experimenting with his role. His latest ‘PK’ has him playing an alien- which somewhat explains the first poster of the film. The actor has in the past gone bold, grown a handle bar mustache, sculpted 8 pack abs- for films. But this time round, Aamir has surpassed by his own standards as well. And it is refreshing to see a leading actor- who has such a huge fan following- take such a risk at the peak of his career. While we laud it and welcome the change that it may bring with it, we also wonder how many more years it will take to accept a similar poster with an Indian actress on it.
