We highlight Bollywood’s fondness with elegant swimsuits through the decades, from the classic, fashion-forward styles wore by Nutan and Sharmila Tagore to elegant maillots and bikinis worn by Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra today.
Nargis was one of the first leading ladies in Indian cinema to pose in a swim suit on screen when she did so in the film ‘Awara’ in 1951. Sharmila Tagore sparked outrage when she featured on the cover of Filmfare in a printed bikini more than a decade later. While wearing a fashionable swimming suit may be the norm nowadays, it was these modern, fashion-forward females that pioneered the way in Bollywood, and they did so in style! We take a glance at a few of Bollywood’s most stunning actresses in swimsuits through the decades, from 1950, from the feminist roles they played on-screen to the avant-garde design choices they made.
Actress Begum Para, about 1951, appears for a photoshoot by the sea, shattering conventions with her innovative professional choices.
Nutan in ‘Dilli Ka Thug,’ a 1958 film. During the film’s climactic sequence, Nutan (a swimmer) jumps into the sea to save Kishore Kumar, and we admire this female storyline.
During a summer photoshoot, iconic actress Suchitra Sen was captured in an unique shot.
Tanuja, pictured here in a backless, skirted bikini in the film ‘Chand Aur Suraj,’ set fashion objectives in 1965.
Hello there, and welcome to the world of Technicolor! Saira Banu channels Hollywood star Esther Williams in the 1965 film ‘April Fool,’ wearing a gold sequin swimwear with complementing headgear.
Sharmila Tagore’s iconic bikini photoshoot for the cover of Filmfare in 1966 broke preconceptions and caused quite a stir. The groovy 1960s had finally made their way to Bollywood. Who can forget Sharmila Tagore’s waterski song from the 1967 film ‘An Evening in Paris’?
