The Dirty Picture

Said to be based on the tragic life of Silk Smitha, The Dirty Picture tells the story of Reshma, an ambitious village belle from the South, who aspires to make it big in the movies. Through this character, we also get to see a rather satirical take on Bollywood's 1980s, which is known to be the most dreadful period for mainstream Hindi films of that time. At first Reshma strives to prove her talent as an actress, but as soon as she learns how showbiz really works, she realises that the only way she can make her dream come true is by using her sexuality and exposing her body, and that's where she turns into Silk. The film industry is portrayed as rather sleazy in the film; casting couch is a standard phenomenon, artistry is a word mostly uncommon to filmmakers and audiences. That said, even though I don't buy it all, it is an amusing watch. The dialogue is witty, the art direction is fantastic, and the film is just too colourful to skip in spite of its faulty script. But then, everything is put aside when it comes to the lead role as played by Vidya Balan, who represents everything that this picture is about and everything that's good about it.

Having seen her spectacular performances in Paa, Ishqiya, and No One Killed Jessica, I'd had huge expectations from Vidya Balan. Little did I know that she would just transcend them all with her dazzling performance in this film in a role which many actresses would either fight for (mostly in retrospect) or shy away from. Forgoing any trace of whatever she was ever known for, Balan just becomes Silk in a fearlessly uninhibited performance that is replete with energy, authenticity, spontaneity, confidence, and a never-seen-before sensuality. She's unabashedly sexy, charmingly vivacious, awfully attractive and just too smashing hot, and the way she delivers those witty, provocative lines is simply awesome. And if that isn't enough, that turns out to be just one side of hers, because Balan brings a great deal of depth and understanding to this complex character. There's a lot of pain, struggle and conflict in her portrayal—something that a lesser actress could have easily missed—and it often ends up being a moving portrait of loneliness. This is a class act which reaffirms Balan's position as one of the finest actresses of our time.

Even though the show belongs to its leading lady, the supporting actors get nice parts to play, and they handle them well enough. Naseeruddin Shah offers a wonderfully spoofy act as a caricature Bollywood hero of the 1980s, that of a middle-aged man that is idolised and loved and still plays parts of much younger heroes on-screen, romancing young girls who could well be his daughters and later playing their sons. Emraan Hashmi is very good in a subdued performance, but Tusshar Kapoor is not as convincing, though good enough. All the rest come and go without leaving much of an impression. I liked the film's music, particularly that "Ooh La La" number, which epitomises the style of the 1980s and which was well presented on-screen. To sum it up, The Dirty Picture is definitely a watchable film, but it's never a particularly convincing one. I somehow wished the story had more depth, and I often found the script too simplistic. But leaving its flaws aside, there's one thing about The Dirty Picture, which is the real thing, and that's, as said, Vidya Balan, whose performance makes every flaw in the film easier to forgive.

Imagine you are making a movie about something really energetic in its own way, for instance, the enormous amount of water that is required to fill a large Sintex tank on top of a building. You may begin by showing how water fills up such a huge tank, the energy of flowing water and so forth. It is however important to note here that it is not the water alone but also the magnanimity of the tank, the height of the building etc. that must get to play an important role. Without an uncompromising projection of how huge the tank is, how it was carried over to the top of a large building and, so on, it will become impossible to feel the enormous presence of the water that fills it.

And that would sum up how The Dirty Picture was executed. The energy of Vidya Balan in the central role was simply enormous. So much so, that the rest of the picture was unable to match up and consequently felt bland and weak in comparison. People often ask, if the writer writes the story, cinematographer films it, actors act and music director scores, what does the director get to do? The director must ensure that the energy of all people involved in the project is channelised in a single stream that gets projected on the screen and must be eventually, felt by the audience.

Director Milan Luthria fails miserably in his job here. A hammy comical Naseeruddin, a controlled Emraan Hashmi and a joke of a Tusshar Kapoor comprise the side characters around the unabashed and shamelessly unapologetic Vidya Balan. Her power over the crowd is merely shown each time by repeated shots of punching movie tickets, crowds of people rushing in and a different dance sequence on the screen. A shabby compromise! The promising biopic is not only slaughtered in its execution by the director but also in its clichéd screenplay (by Rajat Arora who adopts the same dialogue-styles from his previous OUATIM) that allows for an unnecessary narration sequence by Emraan Hashmi and a frequent spew of corny lines and witty (yet, effective) one-liners that end up disrupting the mood of the scene. The audience are however shamelessly satisfied without noticing the loose threads in the story. Like, what happened to the other character who sang with Silk? But who watched it for the story! People cheered when an extra half inch of Silk's bosom became visible or when she has finally got to kiss the medley of different heroes on screen. Special jeers and remarks for Hashmi's kiss. And I was in a multiplex hall.

Cinematography comprised of a sepia-ish hue to depict the 80s period in South India which went very well with the art direction but sadly, it avoided wider angled shots which could have been used to capture scenes involving Silk's audiences or at least to add authenticity to the period drama. This, coupled with the screenplay greatly limited the scope of this movie. The star power that the soft-porn star exhibited was neglected in various scenes. For instance, in the scene where Silk was creating a ruckus outside someone's house, the gathering of the crowd and their cheers were avoided and instead, the focus was on Naseeruddin, Tusshar and other star people involved. Better editing could have spiced up many of such shots.

Music score was mismatched and even slightly boisterous in some places.(I suspect that they must have hired the guy who gives those reaction sounds from Ekta's TV soaps for some of the scenes). Ooh La La was the only fun song. Honeymoon Ki Raat was a mind-boggler! Why was it even there? Sufiana was an unnecessary addition towards the end but they had to have it to show Hashmi kissing Balan.

Acting wise, however, this movie saves its face. Naseeruddin maintained the humour in the first half. Hashmi was consistent throughout. Tusshar was vapid and maintained a stupid look on his face in most of the scenes. Rajesh Sharma is indeed the discovery of the year. After a helpless police officer in No One Killed Jessica, he is unbelievably perfect as the B grade-ish producer. Expectedly, Vidya Balan saves the day by lifting the entire weight of the dirt of this picture and excelling herself as she has done in her past movies. Every performance since her past 3-4 movies has saved her movies from going noticeably awry. I was never a Balan fan from the start. But as of today, all I can say is that no one in Bollywood is in a position to make a picture that can sustain her energy and performance. It's like taking all the water meant to fill the Sintex tank and using it to fill your water bottle. The bottle is enough for you, not for the water.

Producer Ekta Kapoor must have a really weird sense of humour. This movie that holds the vulgar expectations of the audience responsible for the rise and fall of Silk targets the very same from the audience of this film. And apparently she has hit the right spot. Sadly, this is apparently what "Entertainment" in a film is all about! When I walked in for a fourth day's show, many people around me were able to repeat various monologues by rote and in sync with the actors. The Irony!

This movie was extensively marketed and apart from the sleaze, also appeared to be a promising story and biography. The final output is quite disappointing.

The first half is enjoyable with Vidya Balan playing a "devil may care" character, some funny double meaning dialogues and sequences and general cheerfulness of the movie.

The second half is pathetic. The transition of Vidya from a successful star to a self-destructed wreck is not at all convincing and Balan fails to impress. The story is very patchy and disorderly. The end is specially an overkill with the bridal dress and the sleeping pills. The kind of character Vidya plays wouldn't act like a helpless and pitiable character of 1960s. I guess the only good thing about the second half is the attention paid to Vidya's makeup - the eye bags, clothes that suggest many extra pounds and the paunch.

As for the other aspects of the movie, Tusshar looks mentally retarded as usual. He should probably only play mentally challenged characters as he wouldn't need to act much and would fit right in. Whoever wrote the dialogues tried to hit a six off each delivery. He needs to understand that each dialogue can't and needn't be a punchline. Emraan Hashmi should specifically get someone to write dialogues for him that are not always senseless metaphors.

Overall - 5/ 10 rating. Watch the first half for some lighthearted fun and a few laughs. Don't bother with the second half.

Expectations for this movie were totally 'Tharki'. The nation was set on fire since the trailer was launched. Vidya Balan is the hot topic in every corner for her flaunts and oomph. Emraan's something new avatar was also noticed. Shortly, people who were keen to see 'The Dirty Picture' were either waiting to see what Vidya had still to show or some very delicate people were impressed by the centralized theme of the movie.

Silk Smitha was a heartthrob of her time, not for her acting but her skin-show and sex-appeal. Describing her life is nothing so important as she as totally washed out from many minds. But I would praise Director Milan Luthria's 'one step forward' thinking and make such a mind-blowing movie on Silk. I mean, Silk would have got amazed if she could watch the movie and realize how interesting her life was to many people.

Ekta Kapoor is a producer of some different movies like "Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai", "Love Sex Aur Dhoka", "Ragini MMS". 'The Dirty Picture' is a 'hatke' and 'sexy' attempt to bring a rage in Indian movies.

Reshma (Vidya Balan), a girl who had big dreams in her mind sets off in a journey that will lead her to vulgarity, betrayal and impure fame. Her career stars with being 'Silk' and ends when the 'Reshma' in her rises. Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah), Suryakant (Tusshar Kapoor), two siblings were the two obstacles in her 'want to be' good life. Ibrahim (Emraan), who looked upon Silk as a vulgar, dramatic actress and personal enemy, finally finds that what she is doing is not intentional. Real Life V/S. Movie - the difference is shown in this film and by whom it's shown is late Silk Smitha.

No Two penny comments on performance by Vidya Balan. She has shown everything where what should be - 'Body' and 'Herself as a perfect performer'. I can say with extreme surety that she will win 'Best Actress' award in every function (can get a national award as well). The sex content in her role, horny expressions, dialogs (that can shut any person up) - everything made Vidya Balan the show-stopper, simply marvelous. Next to her whom I liked very much is Emraan Hashmi, a small wonder. His role was thin and short but his carrying out was commendable and deserves applause. Naseeruddin Shah was fantastic as a rude, selfish and villain-ish person. Tushaar Kapoor was first-rate in his gentle turned evil role. Rajesh Sharma deserves some points. Others like Anju Mahendrum, Mangal Kenkre & Shivani Tanskale are fine.

The One thing which I liked most in the whole was kick-ass dialog was heroic, crude and strong. Some sexual references were hilarious. Nearly every Dialog is a stunner. Awesome work on dialogs as well as story and lyrics by Rajat Arora. Cinematography by Bobby Singh was good as he covered 80's wonderfully. Costume by Niharika Khan was top notch. Making Vidya Balan look sexy in her big tummy was hard but costumes covered much. Music by Vishal-Shekhar is average. 'Ooh La La" and "Ishq Sufiyana" are the only ones that one can enjoy in a situational position.

On the whole, The Dirty Picture is the best movie of this year so far as it has every ingredient perfect in it. From Story to script to dialogs to performances - everything is just fantastic. Even the Sex-quotient is very high and vulgarism is over the top, still this movie shines for his genuineness and strength in plot and lead actors. Moreover, This movie is a grand success for it's three elements "Entertainment, entertainment and entertainment". Finally I would state that, If you skip "The Dirty Picture", it will be one of the biggest mistakes you've ever made. Please, watch it! P.S. - This movie is 'Strictly', not for kids and under-ages.

Great first half! So so Second half! Typical Milan Luthria movie, 80s setting, 80s music, people don't speak normally but in couplets. Vidya Balan outstanding, others mediocre. Naseeruddin Shah looks ugly but that's what the movie demands from him. The movie starts well with a young girl who is fascinated by movies and glamor. She runs away from her move a day before she is getting married. Turns up in Madras and tries to get to act in movies. She stands in queue for junior artists outside studios without luck. Then one day she gets a chance to finally do a song which no one else is willing to. And from there her career looks like taking off. But a minor setback almost forces her to go back. But not to be and she becomes 'Silk'. Vidya Balan as silk has done great work and the movie is all about her. 3.5/5