‘Dirty Picture’ is not a soft porn, says Milan Luthria

Spicezee Bureau

Mumbai: Thinking man’s actress Vidya Balan, who is all set to portray Silk Smitha in Milan Luthria’s ‘Dirty Picture’, is still in two minds about her characterisation. Apparently, in a bid to clear Vidya’s misgivings, Milan asked the actress to check out some Hollywood flicks that have ‘strong female’ characters. Milan referred ‘Burlesque’ and ‘Chicago’ to Vidya, which finally calmed the frayed nerves of the actress, who was earlier thinking that ‘Dirty Picture’ is a soft porn. Talking to a daily, a source close to the director said, “Milan has asked Vidya to study ‘Burlesque’ for her role as Silk Smitha. He`s also asking her to watch films of Ingrid Bergman, etc. The emphasis is on emulating women with strong and overtly sexual body language.” When enquired, Milan confirmed the reports and said, “Vidya wanted to have an idea about what was in my head and about the character she plays. So as a reference point, I asked her to watch Burlesque and Chicago for rhythmic energy, lighting, photo, costumes, etc. After watching Burlesque, Vidya`s respect for me shot up a few notches further.” A lot of people think that ‘Dirty Picture’ is a soft porn flick. “That`s why it`s important to see films like ‘Burlesque’ to show you the potential for this art form whether it is about a stripper, dancer or item girl. I wanted Vidya to know that what she`s doing is not crass or crude but can be shown aesthetically in a sensual manner with a touch of class. What her character does is not cheap. I wanted to show her that I haven`t taken up a career in soft porn," added the director. Is Vidya Balan finally satisfied?