'Silk Smitha Was Ahead Of Her Time': Vidya Balan

It is said that when an actor essays the role of a real life person, he/she starts identifying and empathizing with the character and Vidya Balan is no different. The talented Balan who plays the role of South sex siren Silk Smitha in the forthcoming The Dirty Picture went on record to praise Smitha for her fearlessness, which was often misconstrued as boldness.

The actress was quoted to have said, "In real life, Silk was ahead of her time. She took pride in what she did and was never ashamed in what she was doing. Silk was bindaas, fearless, open and wanted to live to the fullest. She believed in taking every opportunity and living every moment and was not bothered about what people talk or think. There was some childishness in her but she was fearless."

Balan also added, "Today, girls are in complete command of their life and sexuality... they are unapologetic and take pride in whatever they do. Silk was like that back then. And which is why she was misunderstood and people exploited that in a wrong way."

Silk Smitha, who appeared in over 200 films, was neck deep in controversies and eventually died at the age of 33 in what is suspected to be a suicide case. The movie The Dirty Picture starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor explores the era of 1980s, especially in Tamil films and shows the highs and lows of a dancing star.