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
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