Vidya on FHM India:(Un)Covered. Pun Intended!

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Considering it’s a mens magazine, no surprise to see a backless Vidya Balan in a Sabyasachi sari on the 3rd anniversary issue of FHM India but does anyone else think the pic has been badly shot? For one, its scary how it seems like Vidya’s face was copy pasted in. We don’t think it was but because the hair covers the neck and makes it seem like she doesn’t have one at all.

The second pic would’ve been more appropo.

A snippet from the interview: “Vidya says, “I’m glad people are getting bored of just seeing women in bikinis we’ve become very parochial about sexiness.

I think the sari is by far the sexiest garment it covers the right amount, it exposes the right amount it’s such a tease and I like teasing.”

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Photo Credit: Bollyupdate, Mid-Day

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83 Comments

    • the comments on the cover are an intriguing playout of the concept of sexiness in various cultures. those used to a western ethos find the bikini non-sexy, and this draping of the saree vulgar — but in the indian context,the bikini is the garment considered “vulgar”, and the saree can be sexy. personally, i agree with apple!

      Reply
    • The second one is nice of course, but the photo looks amateurish, it needs some colour correction.

      The cover is ridiculous, I maintain my original opinion.

      Reply
  1. The first pic looks spooky,like old hindi horror movies where a beautiful heroine suddenly turns her head backwards at midnight.Also this body doesn’t seem to match Vidya’s curvaceous body.

    I recently saw a few old Filmfare and Stardust magazine covers and the women looked so much better in the pre-touch up/photo-shop days.Sigh.

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  2. Since when does teasing = being base hmm! ….if being sexy in a saree means throwing it around like a bed spread seen umpteenth times then there is a clear lack of being novel in regard to the specif garment being talked about.

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    • hahaha…

      you know, even if you put the mag aside for one second…her comments about sexiness in a sari…amuse me, considering how badly she fares when she wears them…she goes wrong with Sabyasachi saris man…and let’s not bring up her saris for her “in character” look for Ishqiyan…baaarrggghhh those sari appearances were terrible.

      Gaudy doesn’t have to be an eye-sore. well whatever. lol

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      • Belle, i was laughing hard for the same reason: About how she even makes a Sabyasachi creation looks so bad with her awful draping & who can forget that *in character* look. eww. And here, while exposing a bare back talks about bikinis and covered up can be sexy?

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      • nothing other than saris look good on her and she goes about bashing people for thinking that only bikinis can be sexy.and when does wearing a sari without a blouse pass for teasing.

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  3. haha thats what I thought…like a promo for a scary film re: neck ghost.
    I do love the second pic…wish she had a tan though! Or different lighting against the white background.

    She is right about the sari and sexiness but I can’t help but think she says and wears this all because shes in with Sabyasachi and she didn’t ever carry anything off with style before! Hmmm

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  4. WTF is up with her head in the first picture?! That looks like some Photoshop of Horrors right there… are people just not paying attention?!

    Vidya, herself, however is lovely.

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  5. I neither have anything negative or positive to say about this.
    Technically speaking that first picture looks scary.
    Bring back the Parineeta Vidya please.

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  6. I definitely agree that sari is very versatile…you can wear it in a modest manner or in a sexy manner – depends on a woman’s mood. Anyway, this photo is of some other body with Vidya’s head photoshopped onto it. The second pic doesn’t even remotely look like Vidya.

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  7. I think we should not talk about Vidhya here. But people responsible for such disaster of a cover. who are these people and what are they doing in publishing ?

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  8. You go girl! Would have loved it if they had kept the look and the set a little darker, more regal… she really works the classic, old-fashioned look. Very reminiscent of Ishqiya.

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  9. By the way.. I don’t see that many Indian women in bikini’s. It’s just recently that the models turned actresses are wearing bikini’s in their movies. But then again..I don’t watch that many Bollywood movies.

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  10. LMAO. What the heck is this? The cover does look spooky maybe they did it on purpose for halloween. Even after much photoshopping, her back still needs work. :P

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  11. And again the scaryness of the missing neck aside, does it look like a man is dressed as a woman ??? Am i the only one who sees that? I love vidya in general and think she is gorgeous….but this photo…is sooo sooo wrong…

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  12. Dont like it at all. atleast the sari should have been little up in the back it is falling tooo low. The posing is also not good and is not natural. Its like ‘see my back’ that’s it.

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  13. uuhhhh…so wearing a bikini has become “parochial about sexiness.” but showing bare back, just for the heck of it, is not..?? some logic..!!
    that said..she does look nice in the second one..looks like Diwali is the theme for that pic..and Halloween is for the first one.. :P

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  14. omg, this is shocking and hilirious at the same time . When will celebrities and their stylists learn that the garment sari has extra metres in it to cover up with grace + poise+ style ,not to uncover , retards.

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  15. The cover is horrendous. try twisting your neck to how she has it in the first image, it is not possible, unless she has some extra muscles that we don’t! Silly how they tried to show her face and her back… (which I think was the editor’s requirement!) The second pic is much better… wish they had used that instead.

    About her sari comment, I agree 100%. However, her portrayal of this timeless saree is so wrong. Done right (with a blouse) the saree can still be one of the sexiest outfits…so why in the hell is she baring herself to look sexy? would it not be appropriate for her to wear it the right way and then claim its sex appeal? I hate how your undergarments now have become your choli and here a choli-less look is being lauded! come on people!!

    I will get off my soapbox now.

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    • Historically, I don’t think a choli (or petticoat) is mandatory for a saree.

      Its a nice enough back and the exposure not terribly different from a backless gown.

      Reply
    • historically it was the british raj that popularised wearing of a “blouse” with a sari (used to be called a “jacket” among the bengali upperclass ladies in that time, for example). but since then we have adopted the fashion of wearing a choli (fashion and culture changes, as it should, with the times).

      however, balan’s photo here is clearly not done to show the history of sari style. here she is on the cover of a men’s magazine that celebrates women’s bodies as objects to be desired (as tasteless as it may be to me personally). the sans-choli look is to tease and objectify herself. this look is not about the sari (or the sexiness of the sari vs the burqa vs the bikini vs the toga).

      its about balan trying to look “hot” to FHM readers. bass, thats all.

      Reply
  16. Ok, there is a serious disconnect between her statement and the pics. Call me a prude, but this is way beyond teasing. I wish she’d worn a blouse. It wouldn’t have hurt the pic at all. Even for a men’s magazine. I like the second pic but my eyes are thirsting for a blouse.

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  17. This is the most ridiculous magazine cover I ve ever seen. wat were they thinking? Scary aside it looks so vulgar. Had she tied the saree a li’ll lower.. we would see some unsighty curves aswel other than the curves (Photoshopped???) we are seeing here. Ridiculous!
    I am not liking the whole concept. does FHM always needs to have a cover with women half naked?? like dis one?? A beautiful saree wasted and Vidya is looking like a B grade actress trying too hard to make it big someday. Shame!

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  18. The photo editor for the magazine as well as Vidya’s agent ‘Bling’ (owned non other than ace fashion photographer ‘Atul Kasbekar’) should be fired by Vidya!
    How did such a bad retouched image for the cover get approval of all the parties involved including Vidya?

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  19. agree with the neck and copy paste link but other than that weren’t people getting bored of seeing Vidya in fluffy cotton saris back to back?

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  20. Hmm I don’t watch Hindi movies so I really have no clue about how much Vidya is usually willing to bear.But according to what I have seen of her on this website isn’t this a bit much for her?She comes across as so sharif.Then again appearances are deceitful.

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  21. I agree that the first picture isn’t the best, but Vidya herself looks gorgeous, and I doubt she’s been photoshopped; she looks full-figured and voluptuous. If they had to photoshop her, they could have “piggy-chopped” her body.

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  22. The first picture is terrifying, but the second is quite lovely. Her comments on sexiness are a bit baffling, considering that she has a habit of taking beautiful sarees and wearing them in the most dowdy manner possible. I would love to see her veer away from the long-sleeved blouses and try something a bit more modern.

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  23. I think she is being a bit of a hypocrite- bikinis don’t equal sexy- but being topless in a Sari is a bit more than a tease.

    I think she is a beautiful woman and has always carried herself with grace. However- a choli- even a backless one with a thread tying at the back would have made the picture far sexier.

    The second picture is beauty though. I wish she would have braided her hair, also would have helped to make it more of a statement. Plus a little colour in the background would make a world of a difference.

    PS-I do agree Indian clothes are the sexiest- saris, lehangas! Always a must.

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    • Actuaaly as an after thought – sarees were originally worn w/o blouses in olden times. i have photos of ladies in my fa,ily line and the ones from 4 generations ago dont wear blouses. but of course in the photos its well covered up with the saree and looks very decent.

      Reply
  24. OMG such a major photoshop error on the cover.
    In the second pic she cries, i am moving my hair aside, please see my back…. haahaa…
    I like Vidya but this went kaput… the saree itself is beautiful…

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  25. This is vulgar! The beauty of a saree is that a woman can dial up the sexiness without resorting to unabashed skin show. And this is too much baring. An embellished choli , no matter how low-cut or cut-out with tassles tied at the neck would have been so beautiful. Wasn’t Vidya sexy in Parineeta ? At least someone of her stature needn’t have done this, especially after that ludicrous bikini comment. At least Neha, Biapasha and Priyanka don’t claim to be something else!

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  26. That cover pic is a photoshop disaster. Some really lazy work there. The back shot is actually the 2nd pic. Observe the shadows and the saree patterns – they are identical.

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  27. this look is just so trite and vulgar..no words for it..and vidya seriously has some lack of common sense..and a woman who wears sari on a regular basis..should have thought once more before even agreein to post it on a public magazine.n those who dont know how to pull it off should simply avoid doin that..aint it?

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  28. I think Vidya is indeed looking fab but somehwo looking at that border of the Saree, I feel like I’ve seen it not her before. Not sure though. It might be ceucase Vidya has been wearing a lot of white Sarees lately. Anyway, absolutely lovely from my side.

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  29. saree is sexy and covers the right amount and exposes the right amount , all that is lovely! but pray tell what the blouse covers and exposes and how much of the sexiness is lost when you dont wear it/ so wear it, Vidya!!

    but on second thoughts dahling, whatever!!, if Nirupa Roy could do it why cant you!

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  30. she comes off looking very desperate for attention through this cover..its not like she has a beautiful back and sexy saree blouse would make it look better.
    and i agree photoshop is just horrendous.

    Reply

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