For some in the Bollywood industry, wearing a two-piece or swimsuit is a big deal, even today, let alone in the late 1970s and 1980s. Although the conservative Indian public prefers actresses to wear sarees and jewelry, there have been several times in the 1980s and 1990s when Indian women wore bikinis and rocked them entirely. Times have changed, and so has the attitude of Indians and Indian society toward bikini-clad actresses.
Here are some of the most enduring actresses that mastered the bikini look!
1. Mohana Cabral
In Goa, she was born into a Christian household. During the late 1940s and early 1950s in Goa and Mumbai, she was a well-known Konkani theatre performer and vocalist. Mohana appeared in a number of Hindi films in the late 1940s and early 1950s, as well as singing a few songs.
2. Neena Gupta
She is a well-known actress and television director who has appeared in both art-house and commercial films. Neena is undoubtedly one of the most fearless and self-assured ladies in the film industry.
3. Neetu Singh
Neetu Singh Kapoor is a Hindi film actress who rose to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1980s. She was known for being one of the most voluptuous women of her period.
4. Hema Malini
She is an Indian politician, actor, director, producer, writer, and dancer. She is still the Bollywood industry’s dream girl, and she hasn’t lost her allure.
5. Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Aman was a Bollywood diva who made a name for herself in the 1970s with her bold and se#y roles. Because of her provocative parts in the films she appeared in, Zeenat was arguably the first actress to be labelled a s#x symbol.
6. Tanuja
Tanuja Samarth, or Tanuja for short, followed in her mother’s footsteps, and why not? After all, her mother, Sobhana Samarth, was the first lady in Indian cinema to wear a bikini.
7. Sonu Walia
Sonu is a Bollywood actress who possesses all of the necessary attributes to appear stunning in a bikini. Tall, self-assured, and seductive. After all, she is the winner of the Miss India competition and a model.
8. Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan, better known by her stage name Rekha, wasn’t much of a poser back then, but she had everything that made the audience swoon.
9. Nutan
Actresses wearing a swimsuit were regarded to be wearing a bikini at the time. Nutan was one of the first mainstream actresses to wear a swimsuit, albeit the two pieces arrived much later. It for sure came as a shock for the conservative audience too.
10. Parveen Babi
Every man wished to bring Parveen Babi closer to them after seeing her in a swimsuit scene in Yeh Nazdeekiyan. The image of her emerging from the sea and sprinting down the beach has become an iconic bold female image.
