Bollywood starlets who dare to bare for publicity

Meghna Patel, Poonam Pandey and Tanisha Singh

Publicity mongers have a penchant for controversies. No wonder, a bevy of starlets have been using current issues to their advantage - or rather, as an excuse to bare their ‘body of work'.

Small-time model-turned-actress Meghna Patel did a risque photoshoot to drum up support for the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha elections last year

All this in the garb of getting the public to engage with an issue or a cause, with or without covering the bare essentials. hitlist points out a few recent instances when the starlets shed clothes in an attempt to shed light on hot topics…

Mahek Chahal

Her struggle to land herself films may not have ended just as yet, but the actress, who finds strong favour with Salman Khan, has got enough publicity for herself. Many activists as well as celebs spoke up on the controversy over trees being felled at Aarey Colony to build a Metro III card depot. Mahek, too, jumped into the hot topic of debate by getting clicked in front of a tree. She said, "Development of a city is good but not at the cost of its natural habitat. People don't realise that without trees we will have less oxygen to breathe. Killing trees is killing us." Take out the thigh-grazing bodycon, sky high heels and derriere sticking out, the appeal would have sounded less like a publicity gimmick.

Poonam Pandey

This model-turned-actress shot to fame overnight when she promised to strip naked if India won the cricket World Cup ago in 2011. Though the Men in Blue lived up to her expectations and that of a billion other Indians, she failed to keep her word, stating that the Board of Cricket Control in India wasn't allowing her to do so. A year later, she posted some of her nude pictures after Kolkata Knight Riders won the fifth season of IPL. Post that, she not only got a chance to act, but has also successfully remained in focus for frequently posting titillating snaps of herself on Twitter.

Meghna Patel

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had his share of embarrassment when this starlet decided to shed all her clothes and pose only with his placard over her assets. During the seductive photoshoot, Meghna, who acted in the TV series Kahaani Chandrakanta Ki, covered herself in lotuses (the BJP's symbol) in the shape of a bikini while holding a picture of Modi by the side (refer to cover pic). The pink flowers sure reeked of a publicity stunt.

Tanisha Singh

During the Lok Sabha elections last year, several celebrities took part in campaigning for leaders across various political parties. Aspiring actress Tanisha Singh did not have even a shred of hesitation while announcing her support for Rahul Gandhi. She held the Congress scion's grin-like-a-Cheshire-cat poster over her assets - the party's symbol placed above her breasts and the tricolour wrapped around her waist. Well, the party faced a humiliating defeat in the elections, but Tanisha managed to get her 60 seconds of fame.

Shraddha Sharma

She is better known for her alleged affair with Raja Chaudhary, former husband of TV star Shweta Tiwari. Shraddha found a way to market herself after veteran actress Rati Agnihotri registered a domestic abuse complaint last week. The starlet apparently claimed to have shared a rocky relationship and decided to ‘stand by' Rati by speaking up on domestic assault. "I did dandiya event in Ahmedabad with Rati Agnihotri ji… It came to me as a shock that she can be a victim of domestic violence. I feel women should not tolerate this. She took the right step by informing the police. Domestic violence is a serious offence. It breaks a woman from inside. I wish well for her and pray to God that something like this never happens to a beautiful person like her," she said.