Mumbai: For decades, Hindi cinema treated physical intimacy as something to suggest rather than stage: flowers brushing, waves crashing, a fire crackling. That grammar of concealment is now being replaced by a small but formal discipline — the intimacy coordinator — as streaming platforms and post-#MeToo expectations push sets toward explicit consent and careful choreography.
What the role actually does
Aastha Khanna, one of the small group of intimacy coordinators working in Bollywood, describes the work as closer to action design than to romance. “Just like a stunt director handles a fight scene,” she said, “we map out exactly where the hand goes and where the hair goes so nothing is left to awkward improvisation.”
Coordinators typically arrive with what the industry calls modesty tools:
- Crotch guards and nipple pasties for body coverage.
- Doughnut cushions to keep a safe distance between performers.
- Pre-casting consultations so actors can decide before signing on.
Khanna said coordinators are usually hired before casting begins, allowing actors to know that intimate scenes are in the script and decide whether they are comfortable.
Why the change is happening now
Streaming has been the main driver. With fewer censorship restrictions than traditional film and a growing appetite for nuance, platforms created demand for realistic portrayals of sexuality and complex subjects. Among the first mainstream Hindi productions to formalise the practice was Gehraiyaan, backed by Karan Johar and released on Amazon Prime Video in 2022. Khanna established boundaries and choreographed scenes; intimacy coach Neha Vyaso conducted workshops on physical dynamics and consent.
Older productions often ran on trust. Rasika Dugal, a lead actor in the crime drama Mirzapur, said that show began without intimacy coordinators. “In the initial seasons, we had to navigate boundaries individually based on personal comfort,” she said. “It is very important to have intimacy coordinators so nobody is violated in any way and everyone’s concerns are properly taken care of.”
Still a very small safeguard
The practice remains far from universal. India’s film and television industries number just over a dozen coordinators, and there are no formal guidelines or requirements to hire one. Many commercial blockbusters still avoid explicit intimacy altogether, and some experienced directors continue to manage such scenes themselves.
Khanna also frames the job beyond sex scenes: it can include violence, dominance, harassment and nudity. “The work that I do mitigates a situation where a person may go through several years of therapy and the scar may not heal,” she said.
The next logical step, some in the industry argue, is an industry-wide standard. Until then, the safeguard depends on a production’s willingness to call for one — and on a very short list of specialists.
Source: The Straits Times
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