THE DIRTY PICTURE: All Reviews Here (Index Page 1) - Page 18

Director: Milan Luthria
Cast: Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah

A film producer, desperately seeking a hit, sees a starlet in the smalltime but sexy and extremely ambitious girl Reshma. He immediately rechristens her as Silk. She instantaneously renames him as keeda (worm) justifying that keede hi toh banate hain silk (worms produce silk). That smart and symbolic line pretty much sums up the bigger picture behind the dirty picture. The supposedly decent and respectable society is the one that makes a Silk out of Reshma and sex-symbol out of Silk.

This is the rise and fall story of a nonentity who turns the biggest sex-symbol in cinema, loosely modeled on the lines of real-life temptresses of the 80s like Silk Smitha and Disco Shanti. Reshma (Vidya Balan) might not have admirable acting abilities but sure knows how to use her sexual charm to her benefit - both onscreen and offscreen. That gives her an easy entry into the cine-world and soon she starts dominating film posters and ruling hearts of her fans.

But the same people, who make a star out of her, pull her down subsequently. Superstar Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) sees this woman as a potential threat to his stardom and decides to clip her wings. Even Ramakant (Tusshar Kapoor), who loves her, ditches her for her indulgence in substance abuse. On the contrary, filmmaker Abraham (Emraan Hashmi), the man who hated her the most, gets attracted towards her.

Director Milan Luthria has complete control over the subject matter in almost every aspect - whether it's the story, grammar of milieu or exploring the psyche of the female protagonist. In his biographical account of a sex-symbol, while he explores the sensual side of Vidya Balan to the hilt, at the same time he also shows utmost sensitivity in not exploiting the premise in a way that the film turns vulgar in itself. From heaving bosom, plunging necklines, dumpy hemlines, sexy waistlines, smooching scenes to physical intimacy - the film has it all. But the intentional indecency is supported by a decent story so the skin-show never comes across as shameless sleaze. The barefaced demeanour of the film candidly highlights the exploits of the industry and the unapologetic attitude of its female protagonist. And since the film is more a behind-the-scene account of Silk than her onscreen antics, it touches more than titillating.

Rajat Arora's writing starts off promisingly and runs on a rapid pace, spanning the entire film career of Silk. The film keeps you riveted with its breakneck scene-flow and some innovative writing. Dialogues, undoubtedly, are Arora's mainstay and he ensures a dramatic punch in almost every line of the film, which elevates the overall impact to an altogether different level. While his lines are mostly metaphoric, there are also some suggestive gems in the continual verbal combats of the film. But after a point, one feels that the lines are slightly overwritten when they start defining the scenes over the screenplay, per se.

The upsurge of Silk's stardom has a steady graph though the ensuing downfall seems somewhat hurried and abrupt. With the customary elements of success-getting-into-head and alcoholism and anger ruining her career, somewhere the film turns into a regular rise-n-fall story and loses its USP. However that's a part-n-parcel of a story like this. Also the Vidya-Emraan romance track seems slightly forced to culminate the plot. The climactic scene where a self-disgusted Silk isn't able to face her reflection seems straight out of Priyanka Chopra's Fashion. But above all that, what acts as a bigger letdown is that there isn't a defined or convincing enough conflict in the climax that makes way for the tragic end that the film opts for.

The art direction of the film is immaculate as it correctly brings out the flamboyant and larger-than-life film industry of the 80s. Niharika Khan's costume designs that put the cleavages, midriffs and bra-straps to constant display perfectly complement with the sex-symbol image of Silk. Akiv Ali edits the film through crisp scenes and frequent montages, never letting the biographical account seem unending. Bappi Lahiri's Oh La La and the South chartbuster Nakka Mukka are skillfully incorporated in backdrop to add effect.

It goes without saying that the film belongs to Vidya Balan and she does absolute justice in playing her part to perfection. Not only is she bold in terms of her body language, she comes up with an audacious act and brings out the inner turmoil and pathos of her character effortlessly. Emraan Hashmi is most effective amongst the male leads and makes his presence felt in this female-dominated drama with his natural act. Naseeruddin Shah as an ageing superstar is hilarious in his heroic antics and vicious in his manipulative ways. Tusshar Kapoor is average. Rajesh Sharma as the South producer and Anju Mahendroo as the venomous journalist are effective.

Vidya Balan makes the dirty picture a beautiful experience. Picture mein dum hain!

Verdict: Good