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‘SKIN SHOW IS STILL A NO-NO IN INDIA’
Sreejita De says posing in a bikini in the snow-covered Gulmarg was not for attention but an “experiment”
Inspired by the Kardashians, Sreejita De decided to pose in a golden bikini in the snowcovered Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir. After she posted the photos on Instagram, they went viral with some people claiming she did it for the attention. Responding to the accusations she says, “The snow was beautiful and my friends and I thought, if we clicked photos there, they would look awesome. My friends and I follow the Kardashians and saw one of their photos in the snow and on a lark, decided to click some pictures. We were headed to a swimming pool which was in a covered, warm area and I was wearing a bikini under my coat. It was really cold there, ranging from minus 7 to 13 degrees but as an experiment, I shot the photos. Everyone wears a bikini on the beach, and I wanted to wear one in a snow covered area (laughs).”
The Uttaran actor admits she loved the attention she received for the photo and wonders why people still make such a hue-and-cry about showing skin. She exults, “In India, many people think that when women are covered from headto-toe, they are good bahus or betis or good girls. But someone who is not covered or flaunting her figure wants attention and is amoral. Audiences get used to a certain way actors look on screen, so when they wear something skimpy or too modern or a bikini, it is frowned upon most of the time. In India, skin show is still a nono and a taboo. Look at Hollywood actors, they can wear what they want and no one raises an eyebrow.”
Sreejita hopes that someday people realise that actors are only playing characters on screen and what they see on TV isn’t their real self. She says, “When I was playing Mukta in Uttaran, or even now, when I am playing a chudail (witch) in a TV show, I am not one in real life of course — It is acting. People need to differentiate between reel and real personas.”