Nude not rude: Meet the photographers who believe buff is beautiful

Ranveer Singh’s bum-baring shoot may have caused a stir but a bunch of artists is quietly trying to normalise nudity through their pictures.
A motley group of five nature and wildlife photographers ‘worked’ inside a studio in Bengaluru rather than outdoors this Tuesday. Here, they spent six hours trying to capture the contours of two naked women striking various poses based on their polite requests.The photographers, who usually capture slithering snakes and bustling beehives, were attending a ‘nude art’ workshop conducted by a photographer who calls himself ‘TheDannyGuy’ and a nude model and yoga instructor who goes by the name ‘Yogarwa’.
Yogarwa and TheDannyGuy belong to a small but growing community of Indians — mostly photographers, art aficionados and models — who are trying to normalise nudity through art, albeit discreetly.
Yogarwa is as passionate about teaching asanas as she is about her ‘second job’ as a nude muse. Though born into a conservative family where she was not even allowed to wear shorts, the 38-year-old former fashion model feels extremely comfortable without clothes. Yogarwa, who first posed naked in 2019, does at least one shoot a week to allow a photographer to capture her bare body through his lens. “During fashion shows and shoots, I saw the body being hypersexualised. I could not understand why we have to always sexualise the body,” says the Bengaluru resident who also clicks naked self-portraits.

Ten years ago, when Kolkata-based photographer Rikrivu Banerjee started putting the nude portraits he shot on Instagram, there were barely five or six Indian photographers who were open about clicking people in an unclad state. “I am sure photographers must have been shooting nudes but they were not coming out with their work. Now, every city has two or three nude photographers who are trying this art form and sharing their work online. Moreover, viewers appreciate their work,” says the 28-year-old. Banerjee points out that most photographers still shoot nudes clandestinely — they work with aliases — because they don’t want their family and professional life to get affected. “But I am happy and proud to put my face to my work,” he says.
In a country where Ranveer Singh’s bum-baring photoshoot has caused a furore, it is not easy to create nude art. Banerjee’s Instagram page has been pulled down twice and Yogarwa recently made her fourth handle. “If my page is banned again, I will make another one,” says Banerjee. “If people don’t like it or feel offended, they can avert their gaze.”
He recently clicked an unclad model in a “deserted mountain area” as he wanted to show that it is fine to be naked outdoors just as it is in the bedroom. “Everybody gets nude at some point. You are naked when you go to the bathroom, or when you change clothes. At that point, do you feel criminal,” he asks.
Yogarwa’s family had completely cut ties with her for two years and while her mom has almost accepted her choice, others are still not talking to her. “I feel everyone should have the right to wear what they want. My mom chooses to wear a burkha. That’s her right. I like to flaunt my body and that’s my right. I may be wrong but I feel if women stop hiding and people see more skin everywhere, it will stop being such a big deal,” she says, adding that there ought to be an outcry about the girls being forced to remove their bras before an exam rather than over an actor willingly shedding his clothes for a shoot.
Kochi-based digital artist and photographer Anurag Pushkaran’s account, too, has been banned twice. “It’s not easy to practice nude photography in India. One is asked hundreds of questions from friends, family etc. I try to not engage in these conversations. I simply try to showcase more work and to the right audience,” he says, adding that Instagram guidelines are becoming ever more stringent. Pushkaran, who also sketches nudes, says his friends are his biggest supporters. “They model for me sometimes,” he says.
Celebrated fashion photographer Arjun Mark laughs when he is asked about the current controversy regarding the Ranveer shoot. He was the one who shot Esha Gupta in a teensy bikini a few years ago. The picture caused a huge outcry and Gupta was trolled mercilessly. “We can’t control others’ minds. People have opinions on everything be it food, politics or the colour of a car. But photographers and artists don’t really create for others, we do it for ourselves. I don’t get affected by opinions.”
What rules do nude photographers follow to ensure their pictures don’t end up looking erotic or vulgar? “There is not a thin line but rather a very thick one between the nude and the erotic,” says Mark. “There is no chance of crossing the line if we know what we are trying to create.”
Banerjee points out that consent is of utmost importance. “The photographer and the muse need to be on the same page.” He adds that he spends time getting to know his models — some are friends and others are models he hires — and make them comfortable.
Delhi-based visual artist and photographer Siddhant Vaidya, who has been shooting nudes since 2015, says there is nothing obscene about nudity. “People are truly themselves when being photographed nude. I love to capture this vulnerability,” he says.
Many photographers also use their images to promote body positivity. One image taken by Pushkaran celebrates ‘imperfections’. It is a side shot of a belly with multiple folds. The photograph is accompanied by a note where the muse writes about how she loves “the marks and bends, every depth and detail of mine”. Pushkaran says he wanted to capture the natural South Indian skin tone and the marks on the body.
Banerjee, too, shoots persons of all shapes and sizes and nor does he edit out scars, fat or body hair. “People sometimes write to me to say my pictures have helped them accept their own body form and feel good about it,” he says.
He wishes people would de-link nudity from sexuality. “You can be completely clothed and convey something sexual or you can be nude and yet totally not sexual,” he says.
— Additional reporting by Sophin Chhettri