The 'me-too Silk Smitha' race

She���s been dead for over a decade, but suddenly there seems to be a concerted effort to resurrect the legend that was Silk Smitha. It started with the spectacular success of The Dirty Picture (TDP) that made established and wannabe filmmakers want to milk the story of her tragically short life to cinematic and commercial success.
Looking at the number of 'me-too Silk Smitha' films in the cans and in the pipeline, there is no doubt that the subject continues to be as lucrative as she was when alive and in her prime.And it���s a no-brainer that she���ll be squeezed and milked for whatever she���s worth even as creative souls work overtime to offer us a ���real��� glimpse into her life and times.
Vinu Chakravarthy, the director of her debut film Vandichakkram, says, ���TDP cashed in on the glam and sexy portrayal of the simple girl that I had introduced to the industry. People ask me what Silk Smitha means to me, and I say, she was my student and I was her godfather. I found her in Eluru, near Vijayawada, at a flour grinding mill, when somebody introduced her to me saying that she wants to act in films. I brought her to the industry, introduced her as Silk; I coined the name. The Silk I have known will be how she���ll be portrayed in my film on her.���
She may have been Kollywood���s discovery, but Silk Smitha was quite the steamy sensation in Mollywood too. Filmmaker Anil, who���ll be directing actor Sana Khan as Silk in 'Profile', says his film will in no way be like TDP. ���TDP was a figment of fiction, loosely based on Silk Smitha. But Profile will be her biopic. It will be a portrait of Silk, rather than a spoof on her life,��� insists Anil.
And what Vidya Balan can do, Sana Khan can do even better. Or so it would seem. The actor has already purchased DVDs of famous Silk movies to know more about her and her personality. ���TDP was just an adaptation of the life of one such glamorous lady. But, my portrayal of Silk will be more authentic as it is being scripted by people who knew her, her life and her suffering,��� says Sana.
Not to be left behind, Sandalwood is in the throes of the Silk Smitha syndrome as well. Silk���s smouldering looks and smooth sex appeal saw her mostly being cast in roles of cabaret dancers and vamps, dressed in a bikini and beating up thugs. This could possibly be why actor Nikitha Thukral, to whom the Kannada film on Silk was apparently first offered, said that the role was that of a prostitute.
Ultimately, controversial Pak starlet Veena Malik was signed up to play Silk in Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga, and she denied that she���s playing a prostitute in it. According to the director of the film, Trishul, the Kannada version will be an account of the late actor���s life, based on news clippings and interactions with members of the south film industry who have interacted with her. If Silk has spawned a trend in films, there���s a renewed interest in her life in other quarters too. Actor Kavita Radheshyam has paid her own tribute to the sexy siren in a photo shoot she���s dedicated to Silk.
They say legends don���t die. In Silk Smitha���s case, she not only lives on but also keeps many in the business!
With inputs from Prathibha Joy, Srinivasa Ramanujam and Parvathy S Nayar