Vidya Balan Was Once Called “Mad” For Signing The Dirty Picture

Vidya Balan had recalled in a throwback interview how she had been chastised and labelled “crazy” by those around her for signing The Dirty Picture.

With her performance in the movie The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan quite literally defied all expectations. She demonstrated her acting versatility and won far too many awards for the role. The tumultuous life of the late actress Silk Smith is the subject of the film The Dirty Picture. Vidya had gained weight, gone to great lengths to add spice, and tried everything to make Silk Smitha’s complexion her own. However, as Vidya prepared to sign the contract for the movie, those around her evaluated her character. In a previous interview,

People referred to Vidya as “mad” when she agreed to sign Milan Luthria’s The Dirty Picture because they thought she would ruin her reputation as the girl next door. Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah, and Tusshar kapoor also acted in the movie.

In a throwback interview Vidya Balan opened up about how she had no doubt about the film and the script, but the people around her called her ‘mad’. She had said, “The moment I met Milan, he inspired faith in me. So I knew that he has a certain aesthetic sense, I knew it won’t be cheap. Also, Ekta (Kapoor, producer) was involved and she is a woman. I knew her, I started my career with her. So I was safe on those accounts. But there were people who told me that ‘Are you mad? You are a girl next door and you can’t be doing things like these.’”

Vidya Balan continued the talk by mentioning how her parents encouraged her to trust her instincts and gave her confidence that she could play certain substantial roles. She revealed, “I remember speaking to my parents at that time and I asked them ‘Should I do it?’ My parents, they are obviously not from this industry, so they kept saying ‘No, do what feels right’. I asked myself ‘what feels right’ and the answer was loud and clear: ‘Do the film’. So I went ahead and did it.”