When Raj Kapoor addressed allegations of s*xualising women in his films, fought with CBFC for Zeenat Aman’s ‘Satyam Shivam Sunderam: ‘If a Fellini shows nude women...’

Raj Kapoor was referred to as the ‘Showman’. While he was loved as an actor, he made some really memorable movies as a director. However, he was always accused of sexualising women in his movies - be it ‘Bobby’, ‘Mera Naam Joker’, ‘Satyam Shivam Sunderam’ or ‘Ram Teri Ganga Maili’. He portrayed women in his movies differently and at that point of time, it came as a huge shock to the society.The film-maker had addressed this allegation in his book, ‘Raj Kapoor: The One and Only Showman’ and said, “We are shocked by nudity.We must grow up. In a country that has produced seven hundred million children, people are shocked by partial nudity! Why are we so hypocritical? Children don’t grow on trees. They are made in bed. And what is immoral in showing a beautiful girl? Take cinema to the villages, give them entertainment. The only entertainment they have now is brewing alcohol, drinking it and producing children.”He further revealed how he argued with the censor board for portrayal of Zeenat Aman in ‘Satyam Shivam Sunderam’. Kapoor said, “When the film was complete, I asked the censor board, ‘Which is more harmful, this or what you are permitting? You see the banners and posters all over India. Everybody is holding a gun or a sword or something with which to kill, in a country that propagates non-violence! Can’t you understand that that is what is harmful?'”Kapoor further compared himself to Federico Fellini and said, “I respect women and I cannot understand why I am accused of exploiting them. If a Fellini shows a woman in the nude, it is considered art. If I show off a woman’s beauty, it’s called exploitationFurther talking about what influenced his work, Kapoor elaborated in his biography, “What influenced my work of the early 1950s is not necessarily what will influence the work of the 1980s. It is not that idealism has been lost. I have taken up themes in which women are perhaps more active than men or are more subjected to emotional tyranny by society.”