The Dirty Picture releases this week. Can Vidya Balan beat Silk Smitha? Smitha was discovered by prolific actor and director Vinu Chakravarthy, who later renamed her as Silk Smitha. Silk was the name of her character in super hit 'Vandi Chakkaram'. Queen of box office, Silk Smitha was born in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, in the year 1960, and was educated up to fourth standard. Her aspirations took her to south India's prime film hub Kodambakkam, where she started as a simple make up girl. Her popularity can be imagined by the fact that she appeared in more than 450 films in a career of 17 years. From Shivaji Ganeshan and Kamal Hasan to Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi, there was not a single actor, who wanted their films to be released without Silk's name on the poster. 1982 was a great year for southern actor Smitha who had nine releases lined up. She followed up the year's performance with 13 releases and no one was complaining despite repetitive characterization. Vidya Balan, who essays the role inspired by southern sexy siren Silk Smitha in her forthcoming film 'The Dirty Picture', says, as Silk was bold and fearless, she was exploited in a wrong way.
