The Dirty Picture (2011) – Hindi Movie Review

Directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ekta and Shobha Kapoor, The Dirty Picture is an excellent film with explosive dialog and a bang on performance by Vidya Balan, also starring Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor, The film is a story about a make-up girl who becomes an extra and then the most wanted heroine of the early 80s. Yes, the chronicle rising and the steep fall of the screen sensation Silk Smitha has been perfectly depicted by the quintessential Vidya Balan. Set against the colorful and the entertaining backdrop of south film industry of the 80s, The Dirty picture is a biopic on the life and time of Silk Smitha. It shows her struggles, man in her life and her insecurities.

Director Milan Luthria has given an outstanding piece of cinema. Stepping out of the comfort zone to narrate the tragic story of an actress, the film at no point looks immodest or vulgar. The music composer Vishal Shekhar delivers a good soundtrack. “Oh la la..” is easily the song of the year sung by Bappi Lahiri and Shreya Gosal, While “Ishq tu piya na..” too stand out among the lot. Other songs like “Twinkle twinkle little star..” and “Honeymoon ki raat..” needs special mention.

Silk Smitha aka Vidya in the film have come really long way from her struggling days. Making her debut in the TV serial “Hum Paanch”, Vidya’s bold and seductive avatar is a complete shocker. Vidya’s sizzling show and dare bare act doesn’t make her character vulgar or tasteless. She is one of the main reasons why anyone would watch this film. Sometimes, while watching the movie, you wonder why there are Vidya-less scenes in this movie. She has dared to wear no makeup in the second half of the movie, which is very rarely seen in Bollywood movies. She even put on weight for this role in the movie. The clothes she wore is a reflection of the time she is going through. Naseeruddin Shah who has been cast as an aged south superstar with no doubt gives a flawless performance. Emraan Hashmi too stands out as a headstrong, hot blooded, rebellious director. Tusshar also plays his part decently well. Overall, The Dirty Picture is true shocker of the year that is high on sex values. Portrayal of an ordinary person rise from scratch to extraordinary high and her subsequent fall has potential to set the cash register bringing.

I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.