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Throughout the 1990s, Pooja Bhatt frequently made headlines for her outspoken views and unconventional choices. One of the most talked-about moments of her career came when she posed for a magazine cover wearing body paint, a photograph inspired by Demi Moore’s iconic Vanity Fair cover. While the image generated considerable buzz and criticism at the time, Pooja now says controversy was never the intention behind it.

In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, the actor recalled how the idea came about, the reaction it received and why she believes people misunderstood the image.

According to Pooja, the photoshoot was never conceived as a provocative statement. She recalled instantly liking the idea after being shown Demi Moore’s iconic Vanity Fair cover, describing the image as beautiful and aesthetically appealing.

“I received a lot of flak from one section of people and a lot of love from another. But for me, it was never designed to be controversial. Dinesh Raheja, a journalist for whom I still have a great deal of respect, showed me the cover of Vanity Fair featuring Demi Moore. Jeetu and Dinesh came to meet me and said, ‘Pooja, look at this cover.’ I thought it was stunning. Demi Moore looked glorious. They said they wanted to recreate something similar and asked if I would do it. I said, ‘Sure.’ When I asked who would do the body painting, they said Anna Singh would,” she said.

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The shoot happened in the middle of a hectic work schedule and was completed in a matter of hours.

“I was shooting for the song ‘Tere Dar Par Sanam’ from Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee. I finished work around 9.30 pm and then went to Jagdish Mali’s house. They painted me and we did the shoot. After that, I completely forgot about it.”

“The magazine came out and there was mayhem. But then an unfortunate incident took place in the city. One of the most horrific tragedies happened — the bomb blasts. Naturally, people had far more important things to worry about than a woman who had chosen to paint her body.”

Pooja also addressed one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the cover, clarifying that she was not nude during the shoot.

“I was not naked in the photograph. In Demi Moore’s case, the cover referred to a ‘birthday suit’, which meant she was naked underneath the paint. I was not. I was wearing underwear because we knew exactly where the line was and we chose not to cross it.”

The actor acknowledged that the image may have appeared bold for its time but maintained that it was never intended to shock people.

“I suppose it was audacious and unthinkable for many people. But I simply did it because I liked the idea that was presented to me. I trusted the people I was working with and went ahead with it. The idea was never to be controversial. It was just me being my authentic self.”

Looking back, Pooja said she is surprised that the cover continues to be discussed even today. “Very recently, it was brought up again and people started calling it a cult image. But you can’t create something like that by design. I was simply being my authentic self. The problem is that we are living in a world full of lies, so truth itself has become controversial today.”

The photograph was shot for Movie magazine, with designer Anna Singh painting Pooja’s body and celebrated photographer Jagdish Mali capturing the image.

Pooja has also spoken about the cover in the past. During an earlier conversation with Siddharth Kannan, she said she was simply drawn to its artistic appeal.

“I saw the original photo of Demi Moore and I found it to be very aesthetic. I never thought I was doing anything controversial. It’s about intention. I thought it was aesthetic, and I just did it that way. It was not pre-planned that, ‘Oh, this will go viral’. Those words didn’t even exist back then. We did things organically. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes it became controversial, so we had to keep our heads down, and sometimes people really liked it.”

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