Emraan was reluctant to act with Vidya in The Dirty Picture

Emraan Hashmi, who is cast opposite Vidya Balan in Milan Luthria's upcoming film The Dirty Picture, says that he was in two minds before accepting the film. Emraan was of the opinion that he would get less screen space, as the film focuses more on the role played by the actress.

The Dirty Picture is inspired by controversial south Indian actress Vijayalaxmi, popularly known as Silk Smitha. Speaking to PTI, Emraan Hashmi said, “Generally, I like playing the protagonist. I am a very selfish actor. I don't like sharing screen space with others. So, I had this thing in mind whether I should take this film or not, as I'm not a protagonist and Vidya will get more screen footage."

Emraan further added, “Then I thought, when I would see the film, I would have regretted not being a part of a great film. I do know that the role is not that substantial enough, like what I had in Murder 2 or Jannat or Raaz. I liked the space and the duniya (world) created in this film, so, for those selfish reasons, I did the film."

The Dirty Picture takes us back into the era of 1980s, especially the Tamil cinema and shows the highs and lows of an actress-dancing star. In the film, Vidya essays the role of Silk Smitha. Besides Emraan, Tusshar Kapoor and Naseeruddin Shah are also part of the movie, produced by Ekta Kapoor, that will release on December 2.