Much ado about nothing? Should Ranveer Singh face the law for posing nude?

Last week, Bollywood star Ranveer Singh broke the internet as he posed nude for Paper magazine. Singh was part of the cover story of the magazine's latest issue. The Instagram page of the actor shared a series of images. In some, he posed completely naked, while in others he was seen wearing black briefs.

While the images online led to innumerable memes and jokes, most lauded Singh for the aesthetically shot images.  Twitter was flooded with multiple reactions to Ranveer Singh's photoshoot. His peers in the film industry praised the actor for his unique style and defended the actor's latest photos. Guess the price of the rug featured in Ranveer Singh's naked photoshoot?

Ranveer Singh poses nude for a magazine, Twitter explodes with comments

But days later, an FIR was filed in Mumbai against the actor based on a complaint registered by a Mumbai-based lawyer accusing Singh of 'crossing all limits.'

Police said the case has been registered under sections 292 (dealing with publishing obscene material), 293 (selling obscene objects to a young person) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code and section 67 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (publishing sexually explicit material).\

The complainant Vedika Chaubey on Tuesday appeared on the news channel NDTV and alleged that the images of Singh were a bad influence on her two daughters and four other girls in the family. Chaubey also alleged that she had a video of the actor where his 'bum' was visible and that it was a 'national issue'.

Also read: John Abraham on Ranveer Singh's viral cover: Nude scenes were edited from 'Dostana'

Case toh banta hai, or is there really a case?

While the police are yet to investigate the matter, is Ranveer Singh truly at fault here? Legal experts, WION spoke to state that there really isn't much of a case against Ranveer Sing and the FIR seems like a classic attention-grabbing tactic on Chaubey's part. 

While they state that the charges are valid, they also point out that under sections 292 of the IPC and section 67 (A) of the  IT ACT, the charges should be pressed against the publication, Paper magazine, too. "If at all a charge sheet is filed after proper investigation, then why just Ranveer? A case under the IT Act can be filed against the publication as well," pointed out a senior Mumbai-based lawyer.

Brave and Unapologetic: Bollywood applauds Ranveer as he goes naked for magazine shoot

Experts however feel that the law against obscenity is an archaic one which may have been valid 100 years back, when it was made but needs amendment in today's time.

Experts are of the belief that there is no substantial evidence against the actor. The case and the furore around the whole issue will die down eventually in the coming weeks.

Is Ranveer Singh the first male celebrity to have posed naked for the camera? No. Years ago, Milind Soman had also courted controversy for posing naked along with Madhu Sapre for a shoe brand. Soman in recent years also grabbed eyeballs when he ran naked on a beach in Goa.