In Hindi cinema, there are not even a handful of good movies realistically depicting the inner workings of the film-industry. Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool, Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika, Sudhir Mishra’s Khoya Khoya Chaand and Zoya Akhtar’s Luck By Chance are the only names that come to mind in this regard. Now, Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture makes to that list and I would even go to the extent of calling it the best film of the lot!

Based loosely on the South Indian actress Silk Smitha’s life, The Dirty Picture not only does capture the sex-siren’s checkered life-story, it also presents a detailed account of the behind-the-scenes happenings in the film-industry. The title works as a metaphor not only for the type of films Silk did in her career, but also for the murky ways of the showbiz in general.

A poor girl with dreams in her eyes runs off from her home to get a chance to work in the films. Rejected and ridiculed in the beginning, she luckily gets a bit dancing role in a film and gives it her all. Her sensuous gyrations first get the chop at the editing table. But a canny film-maker decides to use that footage. As her erotic dance-steps set the viewers’ eyes popping, tongues wagging and the cash registers ringing, the girl becomes a sought-after item-girl. By luring an aging superstar into a torrid affair, she climbs up the ladder to stardom. Now her sexy image is the trump-card every film-maker is eager to use. The moralists and the film-critics denounce her; her own family rejects her but the masses simply lap up everything she dishes out. For a while, it seems as if nothing could ever go wrong in her heady climb to the top. But nothing stays forever and soon, it’s time for disillusionment and downfall, brought about by her heartbreaks, her headstrong attitude, her box-office failures and her alcoholism. Does she have it in her to rise up again after the fall?

The story here may have been inspired by a South Indian sex-siren’s life in the eighties, but it has a universal feel to it. A single, ambitious, sexy actress willing to go to any lengths to succeed- it could well be a story of any young starlet making her way up in showbiz anywhere in the world. The times might have changed but the prudish, chauvinistic and sexist attitudes haven’t. Such acts may get name, fame and money for the individual but they don’t earn the respect. Finally it is that lack of respect and dignity; that gnawing sense of being just a public commodity which breaks down the free spirit and leads life astray.

Rajat Arora’s story and Milan Luthria’s direction effectively capture all the elements of Silk’s colorful life. Besides being a biographical sketch, the film also works as a documentary of the 80s cinematic trends in the South Indian (or for that matter, Indian) film-industry. Arora pens some dishy, cutting- edge dialogues and despite their filmi-ness, they work well to give the film a fillip.

As an aging superstar ‘using’ Silk in personal and professional life, Naseeruddin Shah is brilliant and so is Rajesh Sharma as Silk’s earthy mentor. Tusshar Kapoor as the superstar’s meek brother,  Emraan Hashmi as the high-handed director and Anju Mahendru as the cynical film-critic are average.

But it is an out and out Vidya Balan’s film. She takes the central role by the scruff of its neck and delivers a power-packed performance that would be talked about for years. She is simply superb as Silk. From a simple aspiring dancer to the brash sexy star to the fallen diva, Vidya portrays the character with its full force and fallibility.

‘Some films try to work on hearts, some try to work on minds and some try to work on some other parts of the body’- says one dialogue in the film. The Dirty Picture doesn’t work on hearts but certainly works on the minds. It is not an emotional film but an intelligent and insightful film. What about working on the other parts? Well, there is also a definite attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator by showing off the curves, contours, cleavages, coquettish looks and coarse language. But all those things feel like real requirements of the script, rather than needless publicity gimmicks.

So go watch The Dirty Picture. It is not a sleaze-fest, just one of the best films ever!