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Release Date: 2nd December 2011
Genre: Drama
Director: Milan Luthria
Star Cast: Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Tusshar Kapoor
Rating ***/5
Vidya Balan sheds all her inhibitions to play the role of ‘Silk’ in ‘The Dirty Picture’. She goes to a place where none of her contemporaries have been before, whether it be showing off extra cleavage or displaying bags under her eyes.
Milan Luthria makes a decent attempt at trying to make this biopic on 80’s actress Silk Smitha both dramatic and entertaining, however, the weak script doesn’t quite allow the film to be as groundbreaking as perhaps he would have hoped.
Reshma (Vidya Balan) is a small-town village girl who runs away to Madras on the eve of her wedding to try and make it as a film actress. Turned away at first instance, she then grabs an opportunity with both hands by filling on for a dancer and dancing seductively using a whip.
This catches the eye of the film producer who sees it as an opportunity to get male audiences in the theatre halls. Soon, this plain Jane becomes an absolute must-have in films. However, on her way up she engages in a sexual relationship with a married superstar called Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah), and then tries to make him jealous by engaging in a relationship with his brother Ramakant (Tusshar).
When that relationship also ends up in flames, she begins to be wooed by her one-time enemy and film director Abraham (Emraan Hashmi), a relationship which seems a little forced towards the end of the film.
Vidya is superb in her role and you really can’t imagine anyone else playing the character of Silk. From portraying sex on screen to letting bits of flab hang out of her jeans – she just seems completely at ease.
Some stand out scenes from the film are when she is giving an interview to a reporter while in a bathtub, or when she is kissing Tusshar while standing on top of a car in front of a journalists house in a bid to ruin her party.
Naseeruddin Shah is perfectly cast as the aged womanising superstar, while Emraan Hashmi does well in his role, however you can’t help but feel that he really doesn’t have much scope. Meanwhile, Tusshar does ok but there is not much substance in his role and to be perfectly honest it could have been played by anyone. Anju Mahendroo does well as the journalist and gossip queen.
The real hero of the film along with Vidya, are the dialogues by Rajat Arora. They have you gripped from the very first scene and provide an abundance of laughs.
While all the songs on the soundtracks don’t feature on the film, ‘Oh la la’ and ‘Ishq Sufiyana’ are the only two that stand out.
Though Milan Luthria does a good job you can’t help but feel there is something missing from the film. The script could have been a little tighter and there could have been some more emphasis on the darker phases of Silk’s life, which caused her to meet with a tragic end.
Overall, produced by Shobha and Ektaa Kapoor, ‘The Dirty Picture’ is a good attempt to do something different, but the film is lacking in substance, which is only partly made up by the leading lady Vidya. Go and watch it for Silk, but perhaps not along with the parents.
