Vidya Balan recalls her reaction when people told her starring in The Dirty Picture will ‘ruin your career’

The Dirty Picture, directed by Milan Luthria, was inspired by Silk Smitha. It starred Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor.

Actor Vidya Balan has opened up on playing Silk Smitha in the 2011 film The Dirty Picture. Speaking at the 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa, Vidya recalled her reaction when she was told that the film will ruin her career.

Naseeruddin Shah and Vidya Balan in a still from The Dirty Picture.

Vidya talks about ‘instinctively’ saying yes to the film

Vidya said at the event, "I was very excited at the prospect of getting to play Silk. But I have to tell you that the first time Milan Luthria came to me mujhe laga ki, 'Aap ghalat darwaaze pe toh nahi aagaye (Are you sure about it)?' Because I woudn't believe that someone would actually offer me this role. There was this burning desire to do things that people couldn't imagine I could do but I knew I could do. I was thrilled to bits when the film came to me. I said yes instinctively."

Vidya recalled how people warned her against featuring in film

"There were some people who told me, 'Are you sure? It's going to ruin your career. It may actually spell the end of your career because you know you have been Miss Goody two shoes. I said, 'Miss Goody two shoes ka kya matlab hai (what does that mean)? I have hardly done 5-6 films. It's not like 30 years into films and then I'm trying something different.' This is why I'm an actor," she added.

About The Dirty Picture

The Dirty Picture is a biographical musical drama film inspired by the life of Silk Smitha. The film was directed by Milan Luthria and it released worldwide in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Apart from Vidya, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tusshar Kapoor starred in the film. Vidya's performance received critical acclaim and accolades.

Vidya's recent film

Vidya was recently seen in Neeyat, which released earlier this year. The mystery film was directed by Anu Menon and produced by Vikram Malhotra under Abundantia Entertainment alongside Amazon Studios. It also stars Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Shahana Goswami, Neeraj Kabi and Amrita Puri. The film was released in theatres in July.

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