What Ranveer Singh’s nude photos show

That’s why it may have come as a surprise to a few that Singh chose to bare it all. He seems, after all, to be too much in love with his big diamond earrings, shiny sneakers, fancy glasses and spectacular designer clothes. He is probably that rare Indian celebrity who is cool enough to wear an animal print suit with golden-hued shoes. This time, however, he wanted the spotlight on his chiselled body, raising the temperature in more ways than one.

In a way, the set of his nude photographs, published in Paper magazine and shared by the actor on Instagram, captures the essential Singh and his penchant for shock and awe. How many times has nudity become “a national issue”? A case has been registered against him based on complaints filed by a non-governmental organisation and a lawyer on Monday in Mumbai. The complaints claimed that the actor had hurt the sentiments of women and insulted their modesty through his photographs. It is currently a hotly debated topic on different media platforms and has generated quite a flutter on social media. We can thank Singh for distracting us from more pressing issues like soaring inflation and rising unemployment.

Singh’s photographs reiterate the fact that the actor, who entered the film industry with Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), doesn’t shy away from experimentation. With this photoshoot, he intended to tip his hat to American sex symbol Burt Reynolds who, half a century ago, posed naked for the centrefold of Cosmopolitan magazine’s April 1972 issue. The iconic centrefold, conceptualised by the magazine’s then-editor Helen Gurley Brown, was meant to subvert the objectification of women and the prevalent notion that only men wanted to see photos of women’s naked bodies. Such a notion brushed aside women’s desire and didn’t go beyond the heteronormative male gaze.

Singh has been photographed lying on a carpet and a bed of rose petals. In some black-and-white photos, the actor, clad in a black brief, strikes statuesque poses, as if drawing inspiration from ancient Indian sculpture. The images, which have notched over 23 million likes on Singh’s Instagram page alone (at the time of writing), however, show him in a rather pensive mood, minus his trademark high energy. It’s as if he surrendered himself to the idea of creating something artistic.

Nudity has been central to our artistic expression and innovation, as seen in temple architecture over the centuries. Yet, modern pop culture has mostly shied away from it. Though Singh’s nude images can be called “daring” and “hot”, they are not groundbreaking. Indian male celebrities have, over the decades, disrobed for the camera. Milind Soman did it in the 1990s to push the sales of a shoe brand. More recently, in November 2020, to celebrate his 55th birthday, the model-actor ran naked on a Goa beach. Popular actors Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor were photographed in their birthday suits, albeit with their private parts covered with a surfing board and a newspaper, respectively. In PK (2014), Aamir Khan, essaying the role of an alien, lands on earth without any clothes on but finds a transistor to cover his crotch. That image became the movie’s publicity poster too.

Always self-assured, Singh is comfortable with his sexuality. During his wedding, he happily twirled in a beautiful anarkali, even as his gorgeous bride, actor Deepika Padukone, looked on. In the opening episode of the new season of Koffee With Karan, he claimed to be colleague Alia Bhatt’s sakhi (literal translation: female friend) and confidante. A non-conformist, Singh likes being playful and dramatic. He would hardly have realised that he would be raising the hackles of an increasingly intolerant Indian society, this time.

alaka.sahani@expressindia.com