FHM Executive Editor defends mag over controversial Veena Malik shoot

Dubai: The executive editor of FHM India, Kabeer Sharma has defended the magazine, which is currently in the midst of a controversy regarding the nude cover shot of Veena Malik. The magazine has created ripples globally for its cover that has the Pakistani actress posing nude for the cover page. Even while Malik is facing the wrath back home, Sharma is being accused of being part of the media with its own selfish motives which many times turn lesser-known names into instant celebrities. Sharma, however, maintains that he is the one who has been wronged. “We are clearly saying that if it affronts anyone’s sensibilities, they should not buy the magazine,” the Gulf News quoted him as saying. The editor insisted that initially Malik was the one who approached the publication for the cover shoot. Sharma claimed that the model was ‘ecstatic’ about her pictures and was “looking forward” to the issue. “If she had any apprehensions or was unhappy, she could have said so and told us not to go ahead with printing the pictures when we emailed those to her after the shoot. “She was ecstatic about them and wrote back saying she was ‘looking forward’ to the issue. Even when I did an interview with her on November 27, she said she was thrilled for being considered for a cover,” he said. Sharma further said that although her photograph has created a furore in Pakistan, yet it did not license her to make the magazine ‘whipping boy’. “I don’t know her psyche. There’s a backlash in Pakistan, no doubt. But it’s unreasonable and unacceptable that she should make the magazine the whipping boy. Earlier, there was a huge section in Pakistan applauding her for being bold, but then she backtracked and has created a difficult situation for herself,” he added. ANI