Vidya opens up on bare-backed pictures

Vidya Balan was in Kolkata when her bare-backed boldest photo-shoot ever made news. People associated with her forthcoming film The Dirty Picture based on the life of Silk Smitha were busy trying to plug the pictures as part of the actress' preparation for the role of the sleaze queen of the 1970s.

Vidya laughs off these rumours, "Nothing of the sort. The bare-backed pictures just happened. Just because these pictures are, as you say, provocative and Silk Smita was a provocative character, it doesn't mean the two are related. At the moment, I am not giving a thought to anything except Sujoy's film Kahani. I can't afford to think of any other film right now. I'll sit down for discussions on The Dirty Picture after I finish shooting Kahani and promote No One Killed Jessica."

For Jessica, plans to include the slain girl's sister Sabrina Lal (the character that Vidya plays) in the film were dropped. "I think we needed to respect her privacy after what she has gone through," says Vidya.

Vidya says she did the bare-backed cover for a magazine because she wanted to bring out the sensuous side of the saree. "They had never done an Indian cover before. And they said I was the best person to do an Indian cover. I always believe the saree to be the most sensuous apparel. I think I was born to wear the saree. And I was shooting with a photographer I could trust blindly. I always try to surprise myself. It's not about creating an impact. We did the whole shoot in just one costume with no hair or makeup change."