Who would have thought, a film like ‘The Dirty Picture’ would be one of the most awaited releases of the year? With a bunch of extremely talented actors, the film directed by Milan Luthria of ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbai’ fame, is a bold attempt based on the life and times of south Indian actress Silk Smitha.

Arguably, the most popular star in the male-dominated film industry, Silk’s career witnessed never-seen-before heights and tragic lows. At the absolute peak of her career, films that were in cans for years were sold just by including Silk Smitha songs. She worked with almost every superstar of her era and was the sex-symbol across several film industries in India.

Story: From a poor family, Reshma (Vidya Balan) dreams of making it big in the film industry. But discovers that achieving her dreams, in an industry dominated by stars and their egos, isn’t easy unless she willing to do some sexual favors. She does and this gets her a chance to appear in a song with superstar Surya (Naseeruddin Shah). Soon, Silk is a sex-sensation the conservative industry never had.

Surya never lets her forget that she is a star because of him. This results in a never-ending sexual-liaison. Surya’s brother Ramakanth (Tusshar Kapoor) loves her and even approaches her, but she misunderstands his love for lust.

On the other hand, there is director Abraham (Emraan Hashmi) who hates Silk and the fact that filmmaker’s use sex to sell their films. The rest of film is about Silk’s journey through the absolute highs, to the terrible lows and the eventual self-destruction path that she takes.

The Dirty Picture Review

The much-talked about shock-value was limited to the costumes worn by Vidya Balan, but ‘The Dirty Picture’ is a well-directed film with a touching story and some great dialogues. The film can be divided into 3 parts – first, the initial struggle of Reshma which has plenty of praise-worthy moments. Two, the rise of Silk and finally, the fall which results in her untimely death due to debt and depression.

Silk’s relationship with Naseeruddin Shah was well-handled and gives the viewer an insight into what many aspiring actors go through, to get that much needed break. The romantic track with Tusshar Kapoor’s character was fun to watch. But it’s the eventual love story with Emraan Hashmi that stood out as the most gripping of the three. The moments that they share and how Emraan, who loves to hate her, but eventually falls for her, was brilliantly handled.

The music is good, especially the song Oh La La. Plenty of hard work and money has gone into making this film, look a part of the 80s era. The attention to every single detail deserves high praise.

As for the negatives, well, the dialogues at times tend to get a bit vulgar and as evident from the promos, Vidya’s costumes are very revealing. Also, the first half is a little slow.

Coming to the performances, Vidya Balan was outstanding. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role of Silk, which is likely to win her all awards this year. With a less-capable actor, the scenes would have looked vulgar and out-of-place. Kudos to her for believing in the director’s vision and accepting to play a character that would have sent shivers down the spines of most leading ladies.

Of the male actors, it is Emraan Hashmi who stands out and delivers a great performance. Naseeruddin Shah is good. Tusshar Kapoor is restrained but effective.

Overall, The Dirty Picture makes for interesting viewing. Milan Luthria and Vidya Balan deserve all the credit. The film won’t be liked by everyone, but has enough appeal to emerge trumps at the box-office.

Rating: Must watch, atleast once.

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