For many, she was kaali (dark and ugly), but for me, she was a very pretty woman who had a natural talent and knew exactly how to project herself before the camera. Having started her career as a model, Protima Bedi (1948–1998) hit the headlines after streaking on a Bombay (now Mumbai) beach for the launch of a film magazine.
Child of an unconventional marriage, she led her life unconventionally too. She was proud of her looks and her body and loved to flaunt both.
After achieving fame, or notoriety, depending on how one looks at the ways and means she adopted to get what she wanted from life, she turned her attention to classical dance, becoming a student of well-known guru, Kelucharan Mahapatra. As she was a quick learner, she soon became a successful Oddissi dancer, changed her name to Protima Gauri, and founded a dance village called Nrityagram near Bangalore.
This picture was taken on a July afternoon in 1975, at Protima Bedi’s home in Bombay. The sky had been overcast all morning, without a glimmer of sunlight, and I feared I wouldn’t be able to shoot good pictures. The sky was still overcast when I reached Juhu. I promised myself that I wouldn’t ruin my pictures by aiming the flashgun at her. I could, perhaps, expose my aperture a little longer which could then, hopefully, save my day.
I took the lift to the third floor and pressed the doorbell. Protima opened the door with a smile. She was about 5’6″. And dark. She had unusually large eyes that spoke before she actually did. If you fixed your eyes on hers, you would know what she was going to say, even before she actually said it. I had never seen such expressive eyes in my life.
Protima was wearing a loose, white, translucent cotton kurta that extended up to her knees. Except for the kohl around her eyes, I didn’t notice any make-up on her face. As was my habit when preparing to shoot, I started wondering as to what would make my frame. I didn’t have any idea at that moment and that meant a bad frame. Protima got up and walked away towards the bedroom. She soon emerged wearing a white bikini top and a blue checked lungi. It was a combination I had never seen in my life before. She then took the blue lungi off.
She sat on a chair on her tiny balcony with her legs up on the armrest. She had a relaxed expression on her face as I clicked. The sky was still overcast, and some light was sneaking into the room from her balcony. I still felt that it was not enough. Never mind, I felt I was nitpicking about the light and decided to go on clicking. For a moment, it crossed my mind that this was the ‘moment’ and I might not get such a moment again.
One could see her throwing an aimless gaze outside her balcony as I got my first frame. The sound of the shutter didn’t make her shift one bit. Her gaze was still fixed at something outside her balcony. It must have been the crows that were about to retire to their nests — another brutal reminder that the faint light wouldn’t last long. I had, perhaps, an hour and a half at the best, and I needed to make the most of it.
She sat on the chair, she looked at me, she stood up, and she looked away. I never had to say a thing, as she had all those poses in her mind. I went on clicking and I didn’t have to tell her anything. She knew where to stand, where to sit, where to look. Soon my entire roll was exposed. The film-count showed 36, and I could see the setting sun peeking behind the clouds.
An identical picture appeared on the cover of the Debonair magazine, which has been used here as the main (featured) image on top.
The views expressed here are the author’s own and The News Porter bears no responsibility.
