I reached the Playboy mansion on July 2 and was there till July 13. It was a five-day shoot. The Playboy photographer Sasha Eisenmen and the photo director Patty (Beaudet-Frances) shortlisted some 15 concepts that were shared with me on the day of the shoot. Together, we zeroed in on four concepts that all three of us liked equally.

They were the Mysterious Woman look, the James Bond look, the Sensuous Lover look and the Vintage look.

Global laws do not permit frontal nudity on the cover of a magazine and so the look chosen for the cover was that of the Sensuous Lover where I was dressed in minimal clothing... just enough to cover my bare essentials. The rest of the looks that are going inside as a spread have me posing in just accessories and not a stitch of clothing.

The James Bond look was the raunchiest. I just wore a pair of high heels, had a cigarette between my lips and posed with my hands stretched backwards.

The Vintage look had me wearing just a chunky neckpiece and earrings and a heavy Indian dupatta that was used as a prop and not as an item of clothing.

For the Mysterious Woman look, I just have a slim belt around my waist and huge earrings.

 

The people at Playboy had suggested that they prefer voluptuous women as their cover girls. I was 47kg before the shoot and so I increased my intake of carbohydrates to put on some weight. I also feasted on French fries! I like my new look and don’t intend to lose the pounds I had put on. Women with meat definitely have a lot more sex appeal than those who are stick-thin.

Mr (Hugh) Hefner (the head of Playboy) wasn’t involved with the shoot directly, but my final images were sent to him and he loved them! He is a man of few words and contrary to perception, he is a very disciplined man. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there. The poolside parties, the movies the Playmates and I would watch together, the lovely lunches and dinners and suppers, the indoor games. It had become my routine for two weeks.

Just yesterday I heard from the PR of Playboy and she told me that she had no idea that there would be so much hype around my [November] Playboy cover. They haven’t experienced anything like this before, is what she told me. They can’t wait to have me back in Los Angeles.

However in India, there have been mixed reactions. Some are looking at me as a youth icon and the face of the new liberated Indian woman. And then there are others who look at me as a whore and a disgrace to the country. I feel sad to see this kind of double standards — you will applaud dialogues like ‘Iss pichkari mein dum nahin hai’ (The Dirty Picture) and condemn me for what I think is fine art.... But I am extremely proud of what I have done. I feel it will be a catalyst for the women of this country to celebrate their bodies and change narrow mindsets.

(As told to Priyanka Roy)

With the world waking up to the first Indian girl going nude in Playboy, t2 tells you all that you need to know about Sexy Sherlyn:

A starlet, Sherlyn started her Bolly career as Mona Chopra, but changed it to Sherlyn because she felt it sounded “more glamorous”.

The 28-year-old, who made her debut with a bit role in the 2003 Akshay Kumar-Bobby Deol box-office dud Dosti, has also featured in films like Raqeeb, Jawani: Diwani and Naughty Boy. Her last major film role was alongside Rani Mukerji and Shahid Kapoor in the Yash Raj production Dil Bole Hadippa! where she played the femme fatale.

Sherlyn was a contestant on the third season of reality show Bigg Boss where she maintained a relatively low profile (read, was all covered up) and was eliminated early on.

She made it to the front page of The Telegraph after she was caught on our camera dirty dancing with West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle at an IPL post-midnight bash in 2010 .

She specialises in quotable quotes. Sample: “I don’t mind a one-night stand if the sex is great”; “People from the field of modern science have enhanced my tangible assets”; “I feel most comfortable when I am nude”.... The latest? “I should get the Bharat Ratna for posing for Playboy!”

Sherlyn posts racy pictures on Twitter (@SherlynChopra), often leading to temporary deactivation of her account. In 2010, Twitter banned her from posting her sexy pictures, but that hasn’t really slowed her down.

Amidst sniggers that no one makes it to Playboy without having to get, er, personal with 86-year-old honcho Hugh Hefner, Sherlyn maintains that she got the coveted cover “strictly on merit and because she deserved it”. And, of course, all of her fab 34-23-33 figure.

What the world is saying about Sherlyn

Daily Mail, UK: Unabashed, Miss Chopra has hinted that her next step may be into sex films. She said India’s youth “is racing towards liberalisation, and that’s why being unconventional in your choices is no longer a taboo”.

BBC: Bollywood starlet Sherlyn Chopra, who will be the first Indian to appear nude in Playboy, has said it was “not easy” to pose for the magazine…. “I have become the first Indian to pose naked for Playboy and nobody can take away that achievement from me,” Ms Chopra said.

Hugh Hefner on Twitter: “Bollywood starlet Sherlyn Chopra will be the first Indian to appear nude in Playboy, in the November issue.”

Playboy website: “Sherlyn Chopra: Bollywood goddess and legend”.