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The Curious Case Of J.L. Nehru's Controversial Interview With Playboy Magazine


'In the year 1963, Jawahar Lal Nehru gave an exclusive interview to the then controversial American magazine, PlayBoy. The interview was indeed published and the copies were sold for as much as 30 times the retail price. The interview was refuted by the Indian Embassy, while Playboy said that it did happen '. This is the story of that curious interview'   

The year was 1963. Nehru was 16 years deep into his frivolous Prime Ministerial endeavor. While the newly independent India was still trying hard to stand on its own two feet, Nehru had already draped an image of a 'spoilt-for-choice politician' on himself. His close relationship with the high flying British was nothing unheard of. The Brits had left a part of their culture and existence on the Indian mainland in the form of the personality that Nehru carried.  It was hard not to take notice of the lavish life of the man, leading a newly independent nation in post independence turmoil. Hence, Playboy Magazine came calling for an exclusive interview.

J.L. Nehru's Controversial Interview With Playboy Magazine© outlookindia

In October 1963, the magazine carried an extensive outing with Nehru taking about everything from Cold War politics, nuclear weapons, democracy and communism to India's booming population. Since it was Nehru, controversy was sure to follow. And it obviously did. 

Playboy Was Banned In India, At The Time  

The interview went into print and Nehru's name was emblazoned on the cover. The interview was headlined 'A Candid Conversation With The Architect of Modern India'.  Since Playboy was banned in India during that time, people started smuggling it for as much as 30 times the original cost. The interview was an underdog super-hit. 

J.L. Nehru's Controversial Interview With Playboy Magazine© Forbes

The Indian Embassy Said It Never Really Happened  

The same issue which had Nehru's interview also had the Editor's note on page 3 stating that “after the rest of the magazine had gone to press, we received word from the Indian Embassy in Washington that our interview with PM Nehru was not, in fact, the result of an exclusive, personal conversation with the head of the Indian state, but simply a gathering together of public pronouncements made by the Prime Minister in various speeches, statements, etc., over the past several years.” Did the feeling that 'this interview shouldn't have been published' sink in late? Did the government think that Nehru would catch flak for such a robust interview? Well, we will never know that. But the truth remains that the Indian Embassy still doesn't recognize the interview as a personal one-on-one conversation. They said it never occurred and the journalist merely collated the speeches made by Nehru over time and made it look like an interview.    

Playboy Says It Did 

J.L. Nehru's Controversial Interview With Playboy Magazine© news18

After listening the refutation from The Indian Embassy, Playboy's editor hit back by saying that, “the Nehru material was submitted to us by a well-regarded journalist-publisher who has previously conducted numerous similar interviews with famous personages all over the world; it was sold as an actual interview, recorded on tape, and the covering letters that so described the material also included photographs of the Prime Minister and journalist together. There was no reason to doubt its validity and we consequently published it in good faith as a personal interview.” They had made it clear- there were pictures and recorded tapes that proved that the interview did really happen. 

The Interviewer Was Never Heard From Again 

While the Indian Embassy refused to take down their statements on the interview and continued to refute it, Playboy ended the above statement with, “an official refutation from the Indian Government must be respected, and since our attempts to reach the supposed interviewer for further clarification have proved unsuccessful, editorial integrity requires that we print this statement.” Playboy said it could never reach the interviewer or maybe they just didn't want to. Maybe Playboy was still in their nascent stage and didn't want any political backlash. Maybe they didn't want to be questioned for their editorial integrity. But the interview did indeed happen and it does take a deep dive into the mind of one of India's most prolific leaders. 

(You can read the entire interview here.)

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