Mammoth tree trunks. Or so, I thought. And then they quivered!! Did a full-throttle jiggie-wiggie. And that's when I realised that the camera had been focussed squarely on... a pair of hefty thighs! What's better... it belonged to one Silk Smitha whose appearance sent the collective libido of men into overdrive. At Aurora, a single screen theatre in Mumbai, the excitement was palpable as 'Silk' danced and gyrated, heaving away like there was no t'row... and the saliva dribbling away... could have filled a few buckets. Tamil audiences went berserk! As the hefty sex-kitten smouldered, pouted and danced away... I was keenly watching their reactions too. The youngsters in the front row were on an adrenaline high... wolf-whistles, claps, cheers, the works. At that time, 'Silk Smitha' was at the peak of her sensuous career and was inspiring imitations too. Born Vijayalakshmi into a poor family in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, she kickstarted her career in South moviebiz as an extra and was noticed for her erotic roles. Her character 'Silk' in the 1979 flick Vandi Chakkaram turned supremely popular and the title, then on, stuck to her like the proverbial glue. And 'Silk Smitha' the erotic South sex-goddess was born... and boy... did she score and soar! 'Silk Smitha'...fondly called 'Sillukku' by South audiences was accorded the sensuous throne. And she did rule the sexciting) roost for quite a while. Years later, I managed to watch 'Silk Smitha' in Moondram Pirai and later viewed its Hindi re-make Sadma too. Kamal Haasan and Sridevi bagged all the wows from audiences, all over, however... opinions over 'Silk' were divided. While some found her eyes "nasheeli" (intoxicating) and her full lips "sexy," there were some who found her quite distasteful. "Only South Indian audiences can suffer her," said a petite and slim actress from Hindi cinedom. "They like women with big busts and heavy thighs... I find it so disgusting to see her." All that brouhaha died down when Sadma tanked without a trace and after a while... 'Silk Smitha' was a forgotten chapter. Oh, yeah, the occasional dubbed South flick with her tantalising 'item number,' did rear its head... but could do little to sustain the 'Silk' magic for Hindi viewers.