Vidya Balan's fearless turn carries this bold but surface-level masala rise-and-fall tale.
Verdict tier Recommended, most critics liked it, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Critic consensus
Critical reception for The Dirty Picture is largely positive, driven almost unanimously by praise for Vidya Balan's central performance, which reviewers describe as gutsy, versatile, and courageous. Several critics also commend the script's ambition in chronicling a rise-and-fall arc and highlight the film's strong mass entertainment value. The most common criticism is that director Milan Luthria's mainstream masala approach sacrifices nuance and depth, with some reviewers feeling the film could have been braver and more layered given its subject matter. A handful of critics also note overwriting and a reliance on shock and sex value as weaknesses.
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 11 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyFrom the papers
Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
The film too is defiant, but in more juvenile fashion. Director Milan Luthria's approach to this heroic harlot is a masala one, and in its urge to please crowds, forsakes much potential nuance that could have made this a great film instead of merely a film with a great lead character.
Top critic
Film review ·
It's an average film made eminently watchable by its courageous star. Go on, give her the awards already!
Top critic
Film review ·
What makes us watch, despite everything—the overheating, the overwriting-- is Vidya Balan, who dares to go where not too many leading ladies have. This is her film. But it would have been a better, braver film if it had let her go all the way, not just in bed.
Film review ·
THE DIRTY PICTURE is in line for a flood of awards. Vidya Balan will walk away with all possible trophies! To borrow one more line from Rajat's dialogues... Yeh ladki aag lagaegi!
Film review ·
Once in a while comes a movie which dares to break the conventional decorum and bring something new to the audience especially something which the audience enjoys. In spite of some flaws The Dirty Picture manages to do just that. Take a bow Ms. Balan. You definitely are entertainment!
Film review ·
On the whole, THE DIRTY PICTURE banks heavily on shock-value, sex-value and most importantly, script-value. It's an exceptional portrayal of an ordinary person's rise from scratch to extraordinary heights and her subsequent fall. Without doubt, it is one of the most comprehensive scripts to come out of the Hindi film industry in 2011. A film with a universal theme and terrific mass connect, it has remarkable potential to set the cash registers ringing for one more valid reason -- entertainment, entertainment and entertainment.
Film review ·
Watch The Dirty Picture for the gutsiest, most versatile actor we have today.
Film review ·
On the whole, The Dirty Picture is a lovely picture. It will work wonders at the box-office and work in both, multiplexes as well as single-screen cinemas. Its dialogues, music, performances and mature handling are its biggest plus points. A sureshot hit! For the genre of film it is, The Dirty Picture will write box-office history!!
Film review ·
The film has nice mix of South Indian music with Bollywood sounds. 'Ooh la la la ' and 'Ishq Sufiyana' is already topping the charts. Watch 'The Dirty Picture' for dirtiness.
Film review ·
Vidya Balan makes the dirty picture a beautiful experience. Picture mein dum hain!
Film review ·
It's unlikely to garner critical acclaim, of course. No male reviewer will recommend a movie because it gave him a hard-on. Female critic will probably sense exploitation. Silk couldn't care less. She collects only photos of hers that appear in the press.
From our readers
23 ratings · user score 6.7
I wasn't sure what I was in for when I decided to watch this film on netflix, because I hadn't even seen any trailers. For sure it's a bold subject for mainstream Indian cinema, but the film has handled it with maturity and without getting carried away with the subject matter. Props to Vidya Balan for taking on a role that most actors at the top of their careers would probably shy away from. She is completely believable and alluring in this homage to Silk Smitha.
Those titillating promos were just tip of the iceberg. The real part was every award winning performance of Vidya Balan. She takes the steps way ahead of its competition and makes her portrayal of southern siren Silk Smitha look believable and commendable. Apart from Vidya, other casting is also chosen very carefully. Naseruddin Shah is reliable as always. Tushar Kapoor fits for his role. Emraan Hashmi looks charming and his scenes with Vidya in second half are touching and subtle. Milan Luthria captains the whole movie like an expert. Background score is rocking and dialogues are clap worthy. However, movie is not without its flaws, there are one or two extra songs and scenes which could have been removed at the editing table. Overall, movie will be remembered for brave performance of Vidya Balan and some of its one-liners said deliciously by Emraan Hashmi.
I Thought It Will Be A Cheap Movie But It's Not A Bad One.Thanks To Acting Of Vidya, And Emraan's Changeover In Later Parts..Would Like To Mention The Good Dialogues Too
Since the turn of the new millennium, India has undergone a sea of change in all spheres of life due to the influence of the Western world. Though various factors contributed to this inevitable turn of events, the film industry has to thank the one & only, Silk Smitha. In the 80's, to utter the word "sex" itself was considered taboo, so it was almost unimaginable to show skin on screen until Silk broke that mind set. Now Milan Luthria, decided to celebrate this sex siren in the form of a biopic titled "The Dirty Picture". So can Milan recreate the magic of his previous biopic "Once upon a time in Mumbai"??? Silk Smitha's life has been the talk of the film industry as it chronicled the meteoric rise of a highly motivated female unperturbed by anything until a point reaches where she presses on the self destruction mode. The film unfolds with Reshma (Vidya Balan) makes an escape from her home to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress. After facing numerous rejections, she finally lands the role of a seductive siren which catapults her to stardom & gives her the name "Silk". Her romance or more appropriately, her sexual favours for the undisputed egoistical middle aged superstar, Suryakant (Naseeruddin Shah) lands her with numerous stereotypical roles much to the displeasure of noted film makers such as Abraham (Emraan Hashmi). Though how much ever provocative & bold she appeared, she yearned for the love of someone which eventually makes her dump Suryakant for whom she was nothing but an object of desire. At this juncture, Ramakant (Tusshar Kapoor) (Surya's brother), provides her with the support & love that she had hoped for. But things werent going to pan out as she had wished for. So what eventually destroys her career & life??? There is no doubt that Milan Luthria in the company of Rajat Arora has given a very praise worthy movie both in terms of content & performances. Just as in "Once upon a time..", the dialogues here are equally fantastic as it conveys a lot in a sly yet hard hitting way...be it Silk's speech at the award ceremony or her conversation with Abraham at the canteen. The first half was right on the money as it showcases the rise of Silk & subsequently the latter half on her fall. Though the second half does slacken off in the romantic sequences, it doesnt necessarily bore the audience as it has some hard hitting scenes. Vishal Shekhar does provide a decent soundtrack with "Oo la la" rendered by Bappi Lahiri & Shreya Ghoshal being a winner with the awesome choreography reminiscent of the 80s being the icing on the cake. I have virtually no words to describe the brilliant performance by Vidya. Though she does lack the sultry look & sex appeal of Silk, Vidya hasnt left any stone unturned to get into the skin of the character both emotionally & physically. Naseeruddin Shah is an actor par excellence & here too, he reiterates the fact as to why he is considered as one of the best in the country. Tusshar does seem to be a miscast while Emraan Hashmi does manage to give a decent act in the limited screen space provided. Verdict: The movie will have a blistering opening owing to its titillating promos & impressive star cast. There is no doubt that the impressive screenplay, smashing dialogues & Vidya's scintillating act will go a long way in making it a hit. In short, watch it without fail!!! Rating: 3.5/5 Regards...Ben
the perfomance vidya is unblvbl
Credits
Vidya BalanReshma / Silk
Emraan HashmiAbraham
Tusshar KapoorRamakant
Naseeruddin ShahSurya Kant
Rajesh SharmaSilva GaneshHindi films like The Dirty Picture
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