Vidya Balan

By Jilawatan

Come August and Hyderabad will be the destination of one of the most controversial and ‘dirty’ movie shootings of the year.

Major portions of “Dirty Picture,” a film loosely based on Southern siren, Silk Smitha’s life will be shot in Film City and Jubilee Hills area. Hyderabad Times caught up with director Milan Luthria of “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai” fame, who was on a location scout in the city. “It’s natural that we shoot portions of the film here in Hyderabad, to capture the flavor of the South,” says the director.

Controversies galore: Silk Smitha’s life on celluloid could ruffle a lot of feathers, considering she was involved with bigwigs from Tollywood. “We are not making the film for controversies. Our movie explores how she became one of the most powerful women at a time when men ruled the roost,” explains Milan. Earlier, Silk Smitha’s boyfriend and filmmaker, Vinu Chakravarthy, lashed out at producer Ekta Kapoor for not taking his consent before making the film. “It’s ridiculous. We are just using her as a parameter to make a film on women of that era,” says Milan. The choice of Vidya Balan to play Smitha on screen too was criticized by Vinu. “Vidya is a fine actress. She has an innocent face, yet there is this underlining sexuality about her that no one else has. It fits the role. She was sexuality personified in her sarees in “Ishqiya,” he reasons.

The men in her life: With Nasseruddin Shah, Tushar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi playing the three men in Vidya’s on screen life, one can’t help but probe who in particular are the characters based on. “No one as such. Our writer Rajat has written the characters in such a way that it does not represent anyone living or dead,” treads the director carefully. But with a movie based on a Southern siren’s life, how come none of the actors from the South are involved in the project? “Well, it was a conscious decision. If one actor brings in the Southern accent, then we would have to take all the actors from here itself,” says the director, who is now gearing up to shoot with Akshay Kumar for the sequel of last year’s hit, “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.”

“We wanted to take the story forward to the time when Shoaib already became a dreaded don. We decided to replace Emraan with Akshay, as the latter’s seriousness and larger-than-life persona on screen suits the character,” says the director.

Friends in the city: Milan has many Tollywood connections. “I assisted Mahesh Bhatt during “Criminal” and I’ve been friends with Nagarjuna since. Same with Chiranjeevi, who did “Gentleman.” How come he never cast them in his movies? “By the time I started making movies, they stopped doing Hindi films. But I’ve heard good things about their sons, Naga Chaitanya and Ram Charan Tej. The next time I’m in town, I’ll drop in and say hi to my old friends,” says Milan.

By Jilawatan

As Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel will roll soon, the hunt for the leading lady of the film, which stars Akshay Kumar in lead, is on. Top contenders likely to bag the role are Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan!

The sequel will show Akshay as a matured Dawood, the role essayed by Emraan Hashmi in the first part. As Dawood was allegedly linked with Mandakini, the makers are having trouble in finding the right actress to play her part in the film opposite Akki. It’s reported that Mandakini’s character needs a strong actress who can emote well on celluloid.

Now the speculations are rife that either Kareena or Vidya can be approached for the role. As per sources, Ekta Kapoor, the head of Balaji Motion Pictures, wants a top actress to play the lead. The production house is already working with Vidya in Dirty Picture and Kareena is quite close to Ekta and her brother Tusshar Kapoor.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan’s Malayali heritage is what has her as the frontrunner to play Southern siren Silk Smitha in Ekta Kapoor’s new film. It seems director Milan Luthria, who helmed Ekta’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’, feels that Vidya has the face and body needed for the role. And Ajay Devgn has been approached for the role opposite her.

Silk Smitha, who was known for her bold roles in the South, died in 1996, and it’s suspected that she committed suicide.

In the movie, Ajay will play a filmmaker who has a relationship with Silk Smitha.

Though Vidya is the first choice for the role, she hasn’t officially signed on for the project. The star raised her price after ‘Ishqiya’ and that’s apparently the reason she walked out of ‘Double Dhamaal’. The ‘Dhamaal’ producers weren’t willing to pay her new and improved price of Rs 1.5crores. So will she compromise on her price for the Silk Smitha biopic, coming as it does from hitmaker Ekta Kapoor? Watch this space for updates.

By Jilawatan

There had been many speculations floating around the market about Ekta Kapoor’s next venture. The latest news to hit tinsel town is that the producer is getting ready to rope in Ajay Devgan for her upcoming film which will be based on late sexy siren of South, Silk Smitha.

Buzz has it that Ajay would be playing a prominent role in the film with Vidya Balan.

Ajay to play a filmmaker in the film
It’s learnt that Ekta Kapoor is very keen to sign Ajay in her forthcoming venture after her last stunner ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai’ with the actor had a good run at the box-office.

Incidentally, Ajay still hasn’t given a go ahead to be part of this Balaji film. It’s believed that Ekta’s production team is planning to meet the actor this week.

Speaking about Ajay’s character in the film, a source close to the film stated, “Ajay will play a reputed filmmaker who was involved with Silk Smitha during her heyday. The film is not based on Silk Smitha’s entire life. It focuses more on her relationships.”

While Vidya and Ajay are still taking their time to be part of this biopic, director Milan Luthria, however believes that only Vidya would be perfect to play the character of Silk Smitha.

“But Milan Luthria, who will direct the film, is very keen on having her get into Silk Smitha’s shoes. You need a Malyalam girl who has a very Indian type of body for this role,” further added the source.

Interestingly, Vidya had been approached earlier about the film, but she’s still hasn’t taken a decision. According to sources, the film will only focus on behind the screen persona of Silk Smitha.

Vidya Balan in ‘Kill Bill’ remake
After seeing her performances in ‘Paa’ and ‘Ishqiya’, director Sujoy Ghosh is all set to rope in Vidya for his forthcoming flick.

According to sources, Sujoy’s forthcoming Hindi film will be a remake of Hollywood film ‘Kill Bill’.

Inspired by ‘Kill Bill’ which was a top revenge drama, Vidya’s role will be similar to that of Uma Thurman’s in the original. Sujoy found Vidya apt to be cast in the role of a woman who gets betrayed by the people she trusts and how she settles scores with them.

Furthermore, sources added that Vidya is excited to be part of this bold action film, as till date she hasn’t performed any stunts and high action sequences.