Sharmila Tagore Bikini Look: 58 Years Since 'An Evening in Paris' Stirred India

By Shantiswaroop Tripathi

Fifty-eight years ago, in 1967, filmmaker Shakti Samanta directed and produced the romantic thriller An Evening in Paris, with a story penned by Sachin Bhowmick. The film is set in Paris, the capital of France. It stars Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore (in a double role), with Pran and K.N. Singh as antagonists, and Rajendranath in a comic subplot.

When the film was released, it created an uproar—even in the Indian Parliament. The controversy was sparked by the fact that Sharmila Tagore appeared in a bikini in the film. This was the first time an Indian actress had appeared in a bikini on screen, igniting a cultural storm in the country. Not just in the film, she also posed in a bikini for Filmfare magazine, shocking conservative Indian audiences.

This act started a trend among Bollywood actresses to appear in bikinis. For example, Parveen Babi (Yeh Nazdeekiyan, 1982), Zeenat Aman (Heera Panna, 1973; Qurbani, 1980), and Dimple Kapadia (Bobby, 1973) continued the trend. Due to her bikini appearance, Sharmila Tagore was later listed among Bollywood’s top ten hottest actresses.

However, many critics felt that her portrayal in the film was inconsistent, with a character whose intentions and affections shifted without warning. The bikini move was seen by some as a reversal of grace and modesty, considered symbolic of womanhood in Bombay cinema, and a violation of traditional female identity.

Interestingly, when Sharmila Tagore later became the Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification (Censor Board), she expressed concern over and even disapproval of bikini portrayals in films.

According to a prominent news agency, Sharmila commented on her bikini scene, stating that although it created controversy in the late 1960s, compared to modern women's attire, swimsuits now appear quite innocent.

Sharmila Tagore’s Daughter Soha Ali Khan Says:

In 2007, exactly 40 years after the release of An Evening in Paris, Soha Ali Khan told The Times of India—“My mother considers wearing a bikini in An Evening in Paris the biggest mistake of her life.”

The Bikini Was Still Opposed 30 Years Later:

While bikini rounds are now common in beauty pageants, in 1996—almost 29 years after the film’s release—when the Miss World contest was held in Bangalore, protests erupted in the city. Women’s groups objected to the objectification of women's bodies, fundamentalist groups said it was against Indian culture, and leftist groups accused the Karnataka government of selling out. To avoid further conflict, the organizers shifted the bikini round elsewhere, considering it the root of the problem.

Plot of An Evening in Paris:

After failing to find true love in her home country, India, wealthy Deepa travels to Paris, France, in search of it. Her father's secretary already lives there. To ensure her well-being in a foreign land, her father notifies him and hires a helper, Honey, and a driver, Makhan Singh, for her care.

During one of her outings, Deepa meets Shyam/Sam, who instantly falls for her and begins to follow her around. After some initial resistance, Deepa eventually gives in to his charm.

Meanwhile, the secretary’s son Shekhar, needs money to pay off his gambling debts. Knowing that Deepa is wealthy, he plans to marry her. Jack, a gangster to whom Shekhar owes money, threatens him for repayment. Shekhar assures him he’ll soon marry a rich girl, Deepa. However, since Deepa doesn’t love him, she refuses and says she only loves Sam.

When Jack sees Deepa, he is shocked—he thinks she looks like someone he knows. But Deepa is unaware of any connection. Jack then takes Shekhar to his hotel/casino, where they see a girl who looks exactly like Deepa. Her name is Suzy, a club dancer at the casino.

 Angry at Deepa’s rejection, Shekhar hatches a plan. He approaches Suzy and offers her a large sum of money to be part of it. He shows her Deepa and Sam together so she can study Deepa’s behavior and mannerisms. When Jack kidnaps the real Deepa, Shekhar replaces her with Suzy at Deepa’s home.

 At first, no one notices the swap. Suzy pretends to be Deepa and spends time with Sam. But Sam begins noticing differences. He gets suspicious when he sees "Deepa" smoking and drinking.

Deepa’s father finds out about the kidnapping and travels to Paris. He and Sam discover that Suzy is actually Deepa’s long-lost twin sister, kidnapped as a child and originally named Roopa. Deepa’s father is delighted, but Suzy refuses to accept him as her father.

 Sam follows Suzy to find Deepa. Suzy, now in love with Sam, makes him promise to marry her in exchange for Deepa’s whereabouts. Sam refuses, stating he only loves Deepa. Suzy is initially furious but then realizes she must not come between her sister and Sam.

 Jaggu, who now works for Jack and was once Deepa’s father's employee, visits him to demand ransom for Deepa’s release. Deepa’s father agrees, but Sam knocks him out and heads to the ransom location himself. Shekhar overhears the conversation.

In the climax, Suzy arrives at Jack’s hideout, where he is keeping Deepa to show her their resemblance. He leaves the two alone briefly. Suzy reveals to Deepa that she is her long-lost twin. Despite Deepa’s hesitation, Suzy convinces her to switch places and escape.

Both Sam and Shekhar head to Niagara Falls separately to rescue Deepa. Shekhar arrives first. At the same time, Jack’s man informs him of Sam’s arrival. When Jack confronts him, Shekhar kills Jack, and the real Deepa (pretending to be Suzy) escapes just in time. Shekhar then takes Suzy, thinking she is Deepa.

When Suzy sees Sam, she reveals her true identity and warns him that Deepa is waiting on Jack’s boat. Enraged, Shekhar shoots Suzy and tries to kill Sam too. Sam escapes and, before chasing Shekhar, tells Makhan Singh to help the wounded Suzy.

Shekhar reaches the boat where Deepa is waiting for Sam and sails away with her. Sam arrives just after. He jumps onto the boat from a helicopter and fights Shekhar, eventually throwing him into the water, where he drifts toward a waterfall.

Sam and Deepa flee to a small rock in the middle of the falls, from where they are rescued by a helicopter.

The film ends with Sam and Deepa hanging from the helicopter’s ladder as the background song "Aasman Se Aaya Farishta" plays.

Does Anyone Express Love Like This?

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It wasn’t just about the bikini—conservative audiences even mocked Shammi Kapoor for his extravagant expression of love while hanging mid-air from a helicopter and singing “Aasman Se Aaya Farishta…” But whether it was Paigham with Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar, Jagte Raho by Raj Kapoor, or the role of Chunni Babu in Devdas, Motilal left an indelible mark with his unique acting talent.

The veteran actor, who ruled Hindi cinema for nearly three decades, once pulled off a remarkable feat in his personal life. Yes, Motilal, who wasn’t just a natural performer but also a licensed and trained pilot, actually rented a helicopter from a Mumbai-based aviation company. He flew it himself all the way to Khandala because actress Shobhna Samarth—mother of Nutan and Tanuja, and grandmother of Kajol—had left Mumbai for Khandala, and he was missing her deeply.

Motilal flew the helicopter in circles above Shobhna Samarth’s bungalow in Khandala, waved at her from above, and even dropped a message that read “I Love You,” tied to a stone.

A Travelogue-Style Story with Real Locations

The film An Evening in Paris, directed by Shakti Samanta, was shot as if the filmmaker were searching for plot, suspense, or character development in a middle-class travel diary. It was clearly shot on real locations—from within Paris, to Beirut, Switzerland, and finally at Niagara Falls—just before a high-octane climax. The film seemed more interested in showcasing tourist destinations that most Indian viewers could only dream of seeing. Thus, An Evening in Paris provided the flamboyant Sam (Shammi Kapoor) not just as a French fantasy figure but as a worldly guide to the wonders of the globe.

This fantasy of unrestricted access to the wonders and pleasures of the world was one of the reasons why some dismissed the film as frivolous popular cinema.

The movie begins inside an Air India jet, and throughout, Shammi Kapoor is seen riding cars, scooters, helicopters, and speedboats. Director Shakti Samanta filled the film with lavish fashion, fancy apartments, and extravagant indulgences—cigarettes, alcohol, and Paris’s infamous night spots—binding the viewers in a dream of a luxurious, modern world, albeit often deemed superficial in matters of the heart.

Shammi Kapoor’s performance starts off with uncharacteristic restraint but quickly spirals into his trademark wild gestures, sudden head tilts, and full-body abandon. This departure from the previously dominant image of suffering and repressed male leads enchanted the audience. Shammi Kapoor cannot be denied credit for ushering in a new wave in Indian cinema. As Nasreen Munni Kabir aptly says, more than Amitabh Bachchan—the star of the '70s—Shammi Kapoor is the real forerunner of flamboyant stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Govinda.

Playing a double role, Sharmila Tagore also appears as a vamp, indulging in dancing, drinking, and smoking—so shockingly against her other character's “ideal Indian girl” image that it accentuates the deception when she pretends to be virtuous.

An Evening in Paris was directed by Shakti Samanta, a legendary filmmaker of Bollywood, who created numerous classics during the 1960s and 1970s. A lover of Bengali literature, Samanta directed 37 Hindi and six Bengali films, including hits like Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), Aradhana (1969), and Amar Prem (1971). He often teamed up with Kapoor and Tagore to deliver box office successes.

While shooting a song or a full film in the romantic capital of the world may be commonplace today, An Evening in Paris was among the first Bollywood films to be set against the backdrop of France. It was also the first Indian film to feature Niagara Falls, and included sequences shot in Switzerland and Beirut, offering viewers a sort of mini-Euro tour back in the day.

Shakti Samanta Filmography

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