The Dirty Picture (2011)

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

Fmovies: Whats with the 'rave reviews' and 'unanimous praise' directed at this movie and its lead actress ? Well....its bullshit...that's what it is.

I am from the south and Silk Smitha is a legend in her own right. Another misunderstood and misrepresented vamp actress(with talent mind you) who met a 'oh so familiar' end (both in career and in life). Nevertheless, great material to make a bio pic.

And here is where my problem is - when you make a biopic or try making one, you show us the "person", not play out 'rumored tales' about the person's life (in the case of Silk its already public knowledge). Evidently no research has gone into her real life or personality. When discussing biopics, movies like Patton, The Aviator, Malcolm X and all those great ones come to mind. Although Silk Smitha's life is not as celebrated as Howard Hughes or George Patton, you do expect the director do some digging and show us the real personality rather than the screen persona.

Vidya Balan is a good actress, only, with a stronger screenplay and content (not to mention a more capable director), she could have made this portrayal a career best. Instead, you have the usual clichéd "masala scenes" and "dance numbers" which totally miss the point. If you guys think this is a great movie, so be it. I understand your limitation and pity the many more crappy Indian movies to come. BTW, the nakku mukka background score was not only funny, but also annoying...

Some people watch a movie for its elegance, good acting and high production values. Others watch movies for their sleaziness, skin display and controversy. How often do you get both the sides leaving the theater satisfied thinking that they got a great value for money? Milan Luthria presents The Dirty Picture. In the words of Silk Smitha, a film works for three reasons; Entertainment, Entertainment, EntertainmentÂ… And The Dirty Picture is entertainment. However, it's a movie for Adult audience who can take the kind of humor and exposure it has to offer.

The Dirty Picture (DP) is story of a South Indian actress Reshma, popularly known as Silk. Rajat Arora's script keeps flirting with glamor of showbiz and the bitter realities faced by a girl running away from her house to become an actress. To the extent where she eats only a spoonful of sugar once a day as her meal. It exposes how despite criticizing the amount of exposing on cinema; the masses actually enjoy the skin show and that sex sells. The story is a rather predictable tale of rise and fall of a female actor and whatever happens in between, however, it's the treatment and performances that make DP a thoroughly enjoyable watch for lovers of almost all genres.

There are two more things that make DP stand ahead of other recent films. First is the outstanding background score. From the evergreen Naka Mukka to the entertaining 'Ooh Lala' use in the background along with the SFX, background music is simply superb. Secondly, the fiery dialogs are probably the best thing in the entire film. One jewel after another. So much so that you cannot even keep count on them.

Bobby Singh's cinematography is first rate. His best work to date even though he was an unexpected choice. When you have to show sleaze and skin, it's a tough job to still stay classy and Bobby Singh does exactly that. Especially the way Vidya's being overweight has been shown is remarkable.

DP is loaded with powerful performances. It's not very easy to find Emran Hashmi in a bearable role. I don't know why a talented actor like his keeps wasting himself in his serial kisser movies. It was once again Milan Luthria after Once Upon A Time in Mumbai (OUATIM) who took out the best in him. Tushaar too is bearable. Can you believe that? Every single supporting character has done a fabulous job. Rajesh Sharma in another major role after No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ). Navin Gothi, the actor playing Vidya's lucky charm and the director who first kick Vidya out of his set are especially very good. Arya Banerjee makes her presence felt as a new-comer Shakila. Vikas Shrivastav as casting director who sends Vidya out with a 5 rupees bill and Sarang Sathaye as choreographer George who gives Vidya her first song are noticeable in their cameos.

And then comes Naseer Uddin Shah. Who else could have done a better job than NS as the aging malicious actor? He gets into the skin of the character of Surya and does a splendid job of it. Despicable and convincing.

And last but not the least is Vidya Balan. What a powerhouse of an actress. She started the year with NOKJ and has ended it with The Dirty Picture. Totally contrasting roles. In one she was a nerdy homegrown nonentity and in the other she is the sex symbol of the industry calling herself Entertainment and boy, how she excels in both the roles. Watch out for her award ceremony speech, her early scenes with Naseer and the climax. Easily the best female lead performance in 2011. Filmfare wo

The Dirty Picture fmovies. I suppose it's not easy trying to make a bio-pic about a controversial actress that calls for some parading of skin due to various states of undress. In Singapore, the Rose Chan project has been stalled from its initial announcement, with one of the close contenders for the role dropping out and to date leaving the project quite in limbo. In what would is a generally conservative society, you can imagine the challenges faced by director Milan Luthria (of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai fame) in making The Dirty Picture, a largely fictionalized biography film about one of the sex sirens of Indian Cinema known as Silk Smitha, who had made a staggering 450 films over a career spanning 17 years before her untimely demise at age 35.

The Dirty Picture chronicles the life and times of Silk Smitha (played by Vidya Balan) as seen through the eyes of her one time enemy and art-house film director Abraham (Emraan Hashmi), her less than successful love life with directors and screenwriters, and in her desperation, willing to do just about anything for that shot at stardom, in an industry where fame is reserved only for a few, and chauvinistic too. In this version of her life written by Rajat Arora, Silk Smitha adopts her namesake thanks to a producer who sees the opportunity to set box office alight when he chanced upon the unused item number in Abraham's film, and from sultry dance numbers one after another, her role in films begin to expand, and so does her notoriety amongst the gossip rags, playing up her sex siren role to strata-strophic heights. I suppose you know when you're a star when audiences pay full ticket prices only to enter the hall to watch your item number, and leave soon after it ends.

My interest got piqued not only that this is a story of the rise and fall of a sex siren in a film industry, or the controversial scandals that go on behind the scenes, but truly stem from getting another chance to peek into how the industry might have worked previously in the 80s, in South Indian cinema. Om Shanti Om provided that glimpse into the 60s era, though this one offered a look at both mainstream and the adult based industry, although the latter was a little too short to make an impact in this film. The star system is obviously in full swing here where everything a superstar does get praised and sucked up to, and the reverse where junior artistes get the flak for everything else is the norm. Favours are exchanged for opportunities, and soon Silk becomes the mistress of megastar Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) who carries out their affair on set behind the back of his wife.

Director Milan Luthria crafted a very charming film that doesn't border on the exploitative, even though the film's main subject matter is precisely that, presenting just how cutthroat the film industry is, where enemies can become friends and vice versa, and just how fame is such a fleeting issue one can get forgotten fairly easily and fade away just as fast as one enters the scene with a big bang. There's an excellent balance in drama, comedy and of course the need to highlight just how far Silk dares to go against industry norms and shock and awe audiences and crew with her boldness, and the pace is kept to a breeze, forgoing most of Silk's earlier, non-acting life to kickstart where it started to matter.

And clearly the star of the show is the heroine, Vidya Balan, as she takes on what would be her most challenging role to date, making herself believable as a sex siren with no qualms in dressing to the nines

Inspired by the life of the late Silk Smitha, an actress noted for her erotic roles, 'The Dirty Picture' is decent biopic on the late sex-symbol. The main reason why this biopic works, is because of the On-Screen Silk, played terrificly by Vidya Balan. She stands out!

'The Dirty Picture' is a tale of pain, desire, ambition, struggle, and darkness. It's about Silk & her entire journey. It's a complete look at the rise & fall on the late south-siren.

Cinematically, 'The Dirty Picture' is a decent effort, that has enough potential to earn itself a viewing. Of course, the Second-Hour could've been better, but otherwise, there is no major flaw in here to point out. Rajat Aroraa's Screenplay is generally good, but it definitely could've been stronger in the Second-Hour. A special mention for the superb dialogues. Milan Luthria's Direction is passable. Cinematography, Editng & Art Design, are mention-worthy. Music by Vishal-Shekhar, is good

Performance-Wise: Vidya stands out from Scene A to Z. She delivers a terrific performance as Silk. This is Her Bravest & Best Performance to date. Emraan Hashmi is first-rate. Naseeruddin Shah is his usual self, while Tusshar Kapoor deserved more footage. Rajesh Sharma & Anju Mahendru are simply fantastic in supporting roles.

On the whole, 'The Dirty Picture' is a decent effort. Watch it for Vidya's Performance!

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.