Dirty Picture- a Review

Silk Smitha (deliberately using the southern spelling) was apparently quite a character, and lived life mostly on her own terms. I vaguely remember some of her films. Though not much to look at, she made up with a lot of oomph and verve, and the public lapped it up. Though thinly disguised, this film is probably her story.

Vidya Balan is one of my favourite actresses, and she does the role justice. The spirit of a woman who wants to make it big in films, yet who longs for love after having made it, is well captured. The sidelights or commentary on the whole business of films that the movie presents are themselves worth the watch. What are the causes of the movie moghuls churning out trash (the audience, as suspected), the casting couches, the phenomenon of the 60-year old lecherous hero (brilliantly portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah, who, but for the pot-belly, fits the role perfectly), the cronies, the hapless writers who have to twist their tale according to star whims, the fate of the 'different' films (Emraan Hashmi in a nice role), etc. are well brought-out.

The dialogues are sharp, witty and meaningful. They add a lot to the enjoyment. Milan Luthria has directed the movie quite well. I also liked the songs Ooh la, la and Ishq Sufiyana. The takeoff on the Jeetendra films of 70s (white shoes et. al.) is hard to miss.