Bollywood has always been full of girls who deserved metaphors like voluptuous, sensuous, gorgeous, curvy and what not but all of them, with a few exceptions, ended up dancing around the trees seducing their male co-stars and failed to leave their mark on this male-oriented industry. Against this backdrop, the arrival of Vidya Balan on the horizon was like a breath of fresh air as she offered the intoxicating cocktail of all the ‘oomph’ factors mixed beautifully with grace, the ultimate USP of Indian womanhood.
Vidya has set the stage for a paradigm shift in Bollywood’s approach towards female-oriented films. Producers and directors are no longer cagey about making films revolving around female protagonists. With Vidya in mind, they are willing to do experiments and put their money on these films.
Starting with her debut film ‘Parineeta’ in 2005, Vidya has displayed a rare knack for accepting tough and challenging roles and she proved her mettle in films like “Ishqiya”, “Paa”, “No One Killed Jessica” and her last release “The Dirty Picture” which set the box-office on fire and proved to be a turning point in her career. In her upcoming film ‘Kahani’ she is playing an eually challenging role of a pregnant woman struggling to find her missing husband.
It was not easy for any mainstream actress to play the lead role in “The Dirty Picture” because of its overt sexual overtones. The thin line, which separates sensuality from vulgarity, looked completely blurred in this film although it was unavoidable given the fact that the film was based on the life of Silk Smita, the southern sexy siren of yesteryears.
Even Vidya Blan’s role model Madhuri Dixit confessed to her she was not sure of donning this role, had she been offered this film in her time. Madhuri Dixit, whose sensuous ‘Ek Do Teen’ number in ‘Tezaab’ inspired Vidya to become an actor praised her daring decision of playing Silk knowing fully well the challenges involved. On the very first day at sets, Vidya was asked to shoot an orgasm scene by the director Milan Lutharia. Recalling her experience, Vidya says,” It was so awkward, even though you were faking it.”
Vidya’s firm resolve and determination to carve a niche for herself in this rabidly male-centric industry led her to shed all inhibitions and do full justice to the character she was portraying. The gamble worked and paid her so handsomely that she is now looked upon as an actress who forced the industry to completely change its mindset and start looking at female artists as equally viable commercially at box-office, if given equal opportunity.
Vidya’s bold move won her accolades from the entire bollywood and the ultimate compliment came from none other than the ever sensuous Rekha.
However, the success of “The Dirty Picture” has raised a few questions as well. Have we reached a stage where mainstream cinema can brazenly use female sexuality for box-office success? Vidya Balan responds with a blunt answer – The truth is that sex sells therefore there is nothing wrong in it. This reminds us of one of Silk’s famous dialogues in the film - "In a film, only three things matter: entertainment, entertainment and entertainment.
Anyways, this is not a new debate and it will go on forever and ever but nothing can take away from Vidya the credit for being bold and courageous in crossing the rubicon and ushering in a new era in bollywood.
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