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 Vidya Balan is Reshma, a spirited girl who runs away on the eve of her marriage, to Chennai. Trying to make it in the acting industry, she is rebuffed until she does a suggestive dance number in a film and becomes a hot commodity, in more ways than one. Director Selva Ganesh who “discovers” her confers on her the name “Silk”. Silk, ready to do what it takes, uses her sexual wiles to persuade the important men in the industry to further her career. She rises to prominence for the skimpily-clothed, overtly sexy characters she plays in films, but her career goes into decline when she makes enemies of superstar Suryakant, and an art-house director Abraham.
“The Dirty Picture” is based on the life of South Indian screen siren Silk Smitha. Milan Luthria depicts Reshma’s character as a woman who knows what she wants and goes about getting it. She sees nothing wrong in using her sexuality to gain a foothold in the industry. She wants to be a star, the film-makers want to sell their films, and the audience wants to see smouldering sexuality on screen. Silk delivers the goods and wants her due. Despite all the crudity this involves, Silk’s character still comes across as innocent and free of malice. She questions the double standards of the industry in labelling her “dirty” while they create the “dirty” portrayals in their imagination and translate them on screen. She also shakes up the power structure because she flaunts her power over men openly. The male-dominated Southern film industry gets mighty uncomfortable with this confident woman, as confirmed by a scene where a director expresses his qualms about Silk making it to the front cover of a film magazine. The film also delves to a certain extent into her disturbed life – non-acceptance by her parental family, her alcoholism, her debts and desperation and her lonely personal life. Vidya Balan carries the film – she is Silk. I cannot imagine any other actress doing a better job. Even though the role requires her to don skimpy, suggestive clothing, and emit many orgasmic oohs and aahs, Vidya plays it with aplomb and classiness. With any other actress, the role and the film might have seemed cheap or C-grade, but with her even the sultry siren gets credibility. Balan is so effective in her portrayal of Silk, that even when we see Silk suggestively moaning on screen we can’t help sympathizing with the exploited and friendless Reshma. Vidya balances out the overt sexuality with the innocent frankness. She is a siren one moment, and a vulnerable lonely young woman another. There is the jutting out belly and the jiggling thighs, all very evident in midriff baring blouses and short skirts, but Vidya displays not the slightest amount of self-consciousness as she embraces the physical imperfections of Silk’s character – quite a feat in itself; a commercially successful actress enacting a role which displays her in such an unflattering light physically is almost unheard of in Bollywood. Milan Luthria directs this film ably. The film embellishes the true life story, but has good narrative structure. While I can’t say that the screenplay was outstanding or that the film had that sheen which only deep involvement brings, this was still a very engrossing film. And most of the credit for that goes to the excellent cast of the film. Balan, as I’ve said above, is truly magnificent. But even the actors playing the three important men in Silk’s life were quite fantastic.
“The Dirty Picture” molds Silk Smitha’s lifestory into a palatable film format, remaining content to only scratch the surface. But even that attempt results in a fairly good film. To go deeper might require more courage and risk than the average film-maker cares to take, but one hopes for the best. Besides drama and earthy humor, this film also has good music. Go see it; it is worth watching, especially for its courageous heroine.
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Naseeruddin Shah plays Smashing Surya, the reigning superstar. All kow-tow to this selfish philanderer, and to him Silk is just another conquest, to be used and discarded. Shah is superb, as he always is. Tusshar Kapoor plays Ramakant, Surya’s brother who is also obsessed with Silk and takes up with her once her affair with Surya starts tapering off. Kapoor does a fine job as weak Ramakant. Then there is Abraham, the artsy director played by Emraan Hashmi. Convinced that he produces intellectual cinema and Silk is its natural enemy, he hates Silk. Hashmi is a good actor and he proves it here again. Rajesh Sharma, as Selva Ganesh is also very believable.