The History of Kissing in Bollywood: Timeline of a Taboo

Satyam Shivan Sundaram kiss Shashi Kapoor Zeenat Aman



Kohra Waheeda Rehman kiss fish symbolism











Devika Rani Karma













Bobby Rishi Kapoor Dimple kapadia kissing
Rishi Kapoor unexpectedly smooches Dimple Kapadia in Bobby (1973).













Under her watch, kissing in Hindi films hits the jackpot.



It’s as weird as you would imagine.







Karan Johar gay kiss Bombay Talkies





– Mrs. 55


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18 thoughts on “The History of Kissing in Bollywood: Timeline of a Taboo

  1. This was so long overdue… I never knew kissing had been around for so long in Hindi cinema. I am as shocked as you!!!!!

    1. When we first started researching this topic, we were blown away! But I think the ebb and flow of the country’s depictions of physical love in film reveals something quite fascinating in itself!

  2. Satyam Shivan Sundaram ……one of my favorite films…despite the fact that it was so shockingly sensual ( if not down right sexual)!

  3. Congratulations and I am so very Glad you kissed your husband at your wedding.

    The outrage in India following Richard Gerri’s kissing Shilpa Shetty was stupid. It was a spontaneous act. The reaction from Hindu fundamentalists only served to diminish the great liberal tradition of the religion in the eyes of the Western world.

    1. Thank you! I think the incident with Richard Gere and Shilpa Shetty came at a transition point as well as Indian cinema had just begun to widely reopen the concept of physical affection on screen. It would have taken far longer for this to be reflected in the day to day ethics of society. Nonetheless, there were far more important news stories happening around the world, no doubt!

  4. Congrats on your wedding. Looking forward to the pics.
    What a wonderful post. Absolutely hit the nail on the head. Like you (and I’m about 20 years older than you) I grew up cringing if there was even a hint of intimacy (forget kissing) in HIndi movies. I cringed when I saw the Devika Rani photograph but was simultaneously blown away—wow! who knew.
    Thanks again for this great post.

  5. I must ask why there are no censors against the terrible violence in some films….as a a child of the sixties…I still believe it’s better to make love than to make war….

  6. Congrats to both of you and I wish you the very best for the years ahead…

    When Satyam Shivam Sundaram was released, there were riots on the streets of Calcutta after the premiere screenings. The film was seen as a threat to ‘Indian morality’ and the dilution of traditional cultural norms. The mobs actions were obviously wrong but their fears have certainly materialised considering how much things have changed in such a short timespan…

    1. Wow, I had no idea the reaction to Satyam Shivam Sundaram was so violent (especially given the stories we had heard of the positive response among the younger crowd to a provocative film like Bobby). How things have changed indeed!

  7. Interesting post!! I had no idea about the film based on Nehru, or of Gulzar’s film.
    By the way the second last picture is from Sagar (Dimple’s comeback film in the early 80’s, after divorcing Rajesh Khanna), not Bobby, her first film.
    Of course I knew that Kissing wasn’t a taboo, till the 50’s, and of Devika Rani’s looooong kiss. No, it’s not shocking. They were young too, and more open minded than most modern day Indians.
    You forgot to mention the famous kiss between, then lovers, Raj Kapoor and Nargis, from either Anadz (1949) or Awara (1951), that was deleted, ’cause he was a married man, who was in love with Nargis, in real life too. (or something like that). And the numerous famous kissing scenes that involves Simi Garewal et al.

  8. I think Onir’s ‘I Am’ had a full on gay kiss a couple of years before Bombay Talkies. It was a really passionate one too, unlike the coy lip graze in the latter.

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