The Hindu Business Line : Thin dividing line

The concept of sex appeal seems to be changing in Hollywood. The glamorous stars of the past did not favour the thin look. They were well endowed and dressed to show it.

Kim Cattrall, former Sex and the City star, does not like the current `thin' fad in Hollywood. According to her, today's stars such as Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan and Kate Bosworth were just too thin and that would not do. "Marilyn Monroe was the last really voluptuous star," said Cattrall. "If you saw such a woman today, they'd say `O my God, she's so fat!' and that is a shame."

However, there are two views on this. British women recently voted curvy model Keeley Hazell as the one with the best body in the island. The British men, however, decided that Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley had the most appealing figure. Hazell had this to say in response: "It's great that young women are finally getting the message that you don't have to be a beanpole to be desirable. I love having curves and being able to tuck into a good dinner whenever I want." Three cheers to such sentiments.

But there is some truth in what Cattrall says. The concept of sex appeal seems to be changing in Hollywood. The glamorous stars of the past did not favour the thin look. They were well endowed and dressed to show it. Lana Turner was signed by MGM and achieved overnight stardom when she appeared in a sweater that was two sizes too small for her. Other members of the glamour brigade led by Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner, Susan Hayward, Jane Russell and, of course, Marilyn Monroe, were all voluptuous, while Italian import Sophia Loren had a stunning figure.

Actor Richard Burton who married Elizabeth Taylor twice observed that she did have a paunch and not very good legs but her bust line was the best in the world. The Outlaw producer Howard Hughes, the eccentric billionaire who made his fortune from Hughes Tool Co and also became a leading aviator of his time, spent nearly $1 million in designing a special bra for heroine Jane Russell who was already well endowed. The film was a big hit, thanks to the smouldering, sexy looks of the heroine.

Esther Williams began with the hit film Bathing Beauty and remained a water baby in most of her films. But she looked great in swimsuits. The sexy heroines of the silver screen were also labelled as lacking in grey matter. This was true with some of them. Blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield claimed that with her ample bust line she could `outshine' Marilyn Monroe but hardly made an impact in the few films she made. Another glamorous figure, Anita Ekberg, who was introduced at parties by comedian Bob Hope as a native of `Jutland', never made it big. What was needed was a combination of sex appeal and grey matter.

Hollywood also had a `thin' brigade, which seemed to do better on the brains factor. Katherine Hepburn was taller than some of her heroes and also thin. She was well read and a brilliant conversationalist.

The other Hepburn, Audrey, hardly had a figure but had tremendous talent and dazzled viewers in all her films. The British star Jean Simmons, while in her teens, played Ophelia to Laurence Olivier's Hamlet and had a successful stint in Hollywood.

What was the voluptuous factor like in Indian cinema? Hindi film producers were all for sexy stars but in those days most top stars would not wear revealing costumes. The `fat or thin' look did not matter much, because the top women stars (Nargis, Madhubala, Suraiya, Kamini Kaushal, Geeta Bali) in their heyday were neither thin nor buxom. They consciously never tried to look voluptuous. Suraiya was of course buxom but almost never wore tight fitting or revealing costumes. Stars like Nargis, Sadhana and Nutan were naturally slim and in the case of Madhubala, her ravishing beauty did not need any voluptuous touch.

The voluptuous look was reserved for the vamps. So we had Bindu and company, prancing around in skimpy and figure-hugging costumes. But in today's world, where fitness reigns supreme, the `slim' look is in. And yet, we have Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat. They are indeed sexy, but no one will call them `thin'.

Indian stars still need curves but excess pounds are out. Aishwariya Rai's fitness trainer Deepika Mehta was recently rushed to Namibia to join the Dhoom 2 unit and help the star reduce 3 kg in ten days. Ash had put on some extra kilos for her role in Mani Ratnam's Guru and these had to be taken off. The star got up at 4 a.m. for a two-hour workout and the unwanted kilos came off.

The film world is also commenting on the new `slim' Rani Mukherjee, who was asked by producer-director Karan Johar to lose some weight. So, it was back to the gym for long sessions and Rani today is svelte. But not thin! What is good for Hindi films is not true for most South Indian films where heroines need to be a lot more buxom. Perhaps that was why many heroines from the South did not make it in Mumbai. Exceptions were Vyjayantimala, Sridevi and Hema Malini but they never belonged to the slim brigade of Mumbai. The media commented unkindly on Sridevi's thunder thighs but she did take pains to reduce weight.

A `thin' heroine will not click in the South. Plump heroes and heroines obviously were essential symbols of a prosperous Tamil Nadu.

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