The Dirty Picture (2011) is about sex and power- and power is ultimately not in the hands of Silk (Vidya Balan), our heroine, but in the hands of the men in the film industry who made her films, and those who then told her story. Its meta misogyny!
The film was presented by the director Milan Luthria in interviews as a conglomerate biopic of Silk Smitha and other Southern Indian film sex-symbols, as well as Marilyn Monroe. In TDP Reshma/Silk is a young woman from Southern India who runs away to Madras to become a star. She secures her first major role by seducing Surya Kant (Naseeruddin Shah), her childhood crush, and rises to infamy as an “item number girl” and vamp. She declares, "I am the vamp of every story."
And because this is a Hindi film about the life of a vamp, it doesnt have a happy ending for Silk. To add insult to injury, TDP is narrated by Abraham (Emraan Hashmi, Bollywood's "serial kisser"), who disliked Silk from the very beginning. After three hours of sexual tension Abraham realizes he is in love with Silk, but his love is not enough. Spoiler Alert: Silk dresses herself in a red bridal sari and kills herself. TDP has some moments of undeniable fun. Silk is outrageous- she breaks rules, she calls people out, she relishes her money and her fame and power. To take revenge on a film columnist who snubs her, Silk dances on a car in front of the columnist’s home during a party, instigating a small riot. To take revenge on her former lover, Silk initiates a public relationship with his brother. To jump-start her career, Silk steps into the place of a missing item number girl, gyrating her way onto the silver screen, and when her career falters, Silk creates her own star vehicle.
But make no mistake- although TDP was praised by some reviewers as a feminist game-changer, is is ultimately a story of society punishing a woman who was ambitious beyond her station and then turning her story into a warning. Sex is about power- but not for women.
Film: The Dirty Picture (2011)
Director: Milan Luthria
Writer: Rajat Aroraa
Country: India
Runtime: 144 minutes
Language: Hindi
