Sharmila Tagore on backlash to bikini pics in ‘An Evening in Paris’; shares how Tiger Pataudi reacted

Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore made headlines when she slipped into a bikini for a scene in ‘An Evening in Paris’. She was one of the first A-list stars to take the bold step and the public, including the industry, was quite surprised. There were also questions asked in Parliament at that time.

Speaking about the infamous scene on ‘Koffee With Karan’ Season 8, Sharmila said she was ‘upset’ with the way it was interpreted. She also revealed she got an earful from director Shakti Samanta, who helmed ‘Aradhana’.

When she sent a Telegram to Tiger and told him about the incident, he said that he was sure she was looking very nice and that was her support.

‘The photographer was slightly worried. I just thought I looked very nice. What really hurt me later because everybody interpreted it in such a way that I was upwardly mobile, I was trying to catch eyeballs. I didn’t feel like that,’ Sharmila told Karan Johar.

‘When it came out in Filmfare, I was in London so I was unaware until Shakti Samanth called me and said, ‘Will you come back quickly? There are terrible things happening here’ He gave me a dressing down and said, ‘If you want to be in the public eye, this is not the way to go.’ I used to live alone and I was very upset with all this completely opposite of what I thought would happen. So I sent a Telegram to Tiger and Tiger said, ‘I’m sure you are looking very nice’ and that was my support,’ she added.

‘Questions were asked in Parliament. It was not pleasant for me. But learning I did. After that I chose Aaradhna. It was RRR of our time,’ Sharmila said.

Saif shared he was proud that his mother broke barriers and pulled off the scene in the movie. ‘People in boarding school used to tell me, ‘Is that your mum?'’ he said.

Previously, Sharmila discussed the incident at AIMA’s 8th National Leadership Conclave, revealing that she instructed her driver to remove the film posters near her house because her mother-in-law was visiting.

‘I remember there was a poster of the film on the road (near her home), and my mother-in-law was coming to town, so I got my driver to take down that poster in the middle of the night – not realising that there might be other posters on the way from the airport,’ she said.

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