With The Dirty Picture 2 announced this week, the 2011 original is back in the conversation. Directed by Milan Luthria and led by Vidya Balan, the film was inspired by Silk Smitha but drawn from many lives. These are eight details from its making that you may not know.
It was nearly a first-time director’s film
Ekta Kapoor launched the film with Milan Luthria soon after Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai became a hit. She wanted a first-time director because it was not a big canvas and did not have a big budget. Luthria read the story, was bowled over, and asked to direct it himself.
Vidya Balan was not the first choice
Initial talks with Kangana Ranaut and Bipasha Basu fell through before Vidya Balan was offered the lead. When she saw sketches of what she needed to wear, she felt uncomfortable. Luthria asked her to study Burlesque and Chicago, and she took salsa training to fine-tune her body language.
The research gap shaped the story
While researching, Luthria and screenwriter Rajat Aroraa found little material in magazines of that period. Women like Silk Smitha were often ignored except for gossip column mentions. They derived many details from anecdotes and party gossip, then fictionalised them. Kapoor said the purpose was not to justify or criticise Smitha’s life.
Naseeruddin Shah danced after 22 years
He was cast as an ageing South Indian superstar with hideous wigs, dark glasses and painted-on mustaches. He performed a fast dance number 22 years after “Tirchi Topiwale” from Tridev (1989). Kapoor called him “the Shah of all actors,” and Luthria said to expect a man who unabashedly enjoys the flesh of women.
Emraan Hashmi’s role stayed under wraps
Tusshar Kapoor was known to play a script-writer and Silk’s love interest, but the nature of Emraan Hashmi’s role was unknown for a while. Trade pundit Taran Adarsh called the casting “the perfect combination of mass and class” from the Balaji stable.
The lead pair was kept apart
To create a sense of discomfort between the two lead characters, Luthria did not allow Balan and Hashmi to interact during workshops. He brought them together directly for an important scene where they had to insult each other. The resulting chemistry surprised him.
The trailer caught fire online
The first look and teaser launched online on 26 August 2011, and the response prompted producers to consider a sequel. The trailer on YouTube got over 500,000 hits in one day and one million hits in two days.
Promotions leaned into the 1980s
The theatrical trailer launched on 30 August at a single-screen cinema in Bandra, with the space decorated to recreate the retro era. Since the film is set in the 1980s, when multiplexes did not exist, the producers thought a single screen fitting. The cast also appeared on Bigg Boss and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain.
Which making-of detail surprised you most? Tell us your favourite The Dirty Picture memory.
Facts from Wikipedia: The Dirty Picture, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.