Dirty Pictures is not a soft porn

To clear out actress Vidya Balan's doubt about her character in the film Dirty Pictures, director Milan Luthria gave her DVDs of English films Burlesque and Chicago, which have 'strong sexual' female characters.

Vidya, who was confused about Dirty Pictures turning out to be a soft porn, voiced her fear, to which Milan asked her to watch the English films and learn about her role as Silk Smitha. She has to emulate women with strong and overtly sexual body language.

Milan told Mid Day, "Vidya wanted to have an idea about what was in my head and about the character she plays. So as a reference point, I asked her to watch Burlesque and Chicago for rhythmic energy, lighting, photo, costumes, etc. After watching Burlesque, Vidya's respect for me shot up a few notches further," (he laughs).

Milan clears the thought that Dirty Pictures is not a hard hitting south Indian masala soft porn film. “That's why it's important to see films like Burlesque to show you the potential for this art form whether it is about a stripper, dancer or item girl. I wanted Vidya to know that what she's doing is not crass or crude but can be shown aesthetically in a sensual manner with a touch of class. What her character does, is not cheap. I wanted to show her that I haven't taken up a career in soft porn," Milan jokes.