The first bikini was worn in India in August 1966 by actor Sharmila Tagore for Filmfare magazine. The daring photo shoot not only made something previously unseen and unheard-of visible to the public, but it also prompted a national conversation about morality and the representation of Indian women.
Unfazed, Tagore continued on after this. She donned a bikini once more, this time for her 1967 film An Evening in Paris, introducing the glitzy, provocative outfit to Indian sensibilities.
Few actresses ventured to challenge the prevalent damsel-in-distress stereotype of the Bollywood heroine in the 1970s and 1980s. Zeenat Aman, the first Indian woman to win Miss Asia Pacific, distinguished out and owned the bikini on the silver screen by donning it in several of her movies. She is credited with making the two-piece outfit the first sex symbol in India and immortalizing it for a generation.
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