Culture / Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos

Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos

Culture Jul 29, 2022

by Hina P. Ansari

Ranveer Singh lit social on fire with his risque semi-nude photos as part of an extensive story published in PAPER. However all the pearl clutching is a bit much. In Bollywood we are ready and willing to accept semi-nude and scantily-clad Bollywood heroines, however when it comes to showing skin why is everyone aiming their moral outrage at Ranveer? There are much bigger issues that need to be addressed than his artful photo shoot.

What Pisses Me Off: Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos

When I came across the photos I didn’t even bat an eye. Simply because as someone who works in the industry and has styled and produced photo shoots with Hollywood and Bollywood A-listers back in my career, I know what it takes to come up with a concept, the actual shoot setting and negotiations that take place to ensure everyone including the talent is on board. So when I saw the semi-nude Adonis-esque shots of Ranveer Singh in one of the biggest culture magazines out there I was thrilled for him.

PAPER is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a globally coveted magazine celebrating the intersectionality of art, culture, celebrity and society. It only made sense to have him.

Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh's Photos — **Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos: Ranveer Singh featured in *PAPER*.** Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ranveersingh

So when the photos went viral (as they should), it is simply because people (South Asian fans to be exact) were shocked, and apparently had so much moral outrage they couldn’t contain themselves. Literally. One even filed a police complaint that Ranveer was somehow “offending women’s sentiment”. Whatever that means.

The selective amnesia that these specific group of Bollywood fans are having is such a Bollywood plot twist I can’t even…

The pearl-clutching. The gasps. The “how dare he” sentiments that seem to have satiated the comments across social shows me the true colours of these fans. Their shade is called “hypocrite”. Not everyone can pull it off, but this lot sure seem to have a knack for it.

Have we all forgotten that this is Bollywood and this is Ranveer Singh?

This is the same industry (and probably the same fans) who actually have no problem seeing their favourite barely draped starlet gyrating on screen. She’s covered just enough so as not to alert the censors but still bare enough to excite the fans. It’s a common sight to see: their pilates-toned abs, the highlighted curvature of their decollete thanks to the extra padded blouses, and let’s not forget their glistening thighs. The camera work really drives that sexually heightened point home with their strategic closeups and pans. All under the direction of mostly men.

But when Ranveer Singh (who is in black briefs by the way), is approached by one of the biggest mainstream magazines in the word to be photographed in this artful direction which shares the same spirit of iconic photographers Richard Avedon or Yousuf Karsh, we have lost all moral standing as a society.

He isn’t gyrating. He isn’t pressing his glistened body up against another model. It’s just him. Solo. A celebration of a star who clearly has worked very hard for his athletic build.

Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh's Photos: Ranveer Singh featured in PAPER. Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ranveersingh — Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos: Ranveer Singh featured in *PAPER.* Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ranveersingh

Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh's Photos: Ranveer Singh photo shoot in PAPER. Photo Credit: www.instagram.com — Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos: Ranveer Singh featured in *PAPER.* Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ranveersingh

I think that PAPER and their editors and crew which included photographer Ashish Shah with creative direction by Kshitij Kankaria, were deliberate in their approach. Ranveer is known for his avant-garde fashion sense. His sartorial reputation precedes him. No one understands the visual impact of style better than he. He’s far from a fashion victim because you can tell he’s calling the shots. He’s dictating the direction of his look from head to toe. It’s very calculated. It’s extremely savvy. It’s totally Ranveer. So what better way than to strip him from all of that and just show him exposed, and away from the dazzling colours and the blinding bling. Ranveer is raw. And the title “The Last Bollywood Star”…

… I mean, it’s genius.

People! We need to focus all this ridiculous negative energy towards much more worthier issues. What about the historical misogyny that we continue to see on screen which are not being tampered down at all by the directors and producers? How about we channel our energies to make sure that human rights are addressed when it come journalists who are being banned from flying and jailed simply because they publicly stated their opposition to the current administration’s policies? Or pay heed to what Genocide Watch recently declared, a threat of genocide against Muslims in India.

I can go on and on and on.

But whatever. You go ahead and get extremely offended over Ranveer’s semi-nude photos.

You don’t even see his ding-a-ling anyway.

Main Image Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/ranveersingh

Hina P. Ansari

Author

Hina P. Ansari is a graduate from The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario). Since then she has carved a successful career in Canada's national fashion-publishing world as the Entertainment/Photo Editor at FLARE Magazine, Canada's national fashion magazine. She was the first South Asian in...

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Everyone Needs To Calm Down About Ranveer Singh’s Photos

by Hina P. Ansari

Hina P. Ansari

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