SILK SMITHA BIRTH ANNIVERSARY: Vijayalakshmi Vadlapatla, who rose to fame with her stage name Silk Smitha, appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi movies. She broke the stereotype of docile female characters. Silk Smitha who started her career as a makeup artist, gradually went on to portray brave roles on the silver screen. She even featured in various popular dance numbers.

It was her 1979 release Vandichakkaram, which made her one of the most adored actresses of the 80s. On her birth anniversary, let’s take a look at some of the lesser-known facts and some movies inspired by her life.

Some lesser-known facts about the actress:

1. Silk Smitha was born in a Telugu family, to Ramallu and Sarasamma in Kovvali village in Andhra Pradesh.
2. She left school at the age of 10 years due to financial problems.
3. At the age of 14, she walked out of a forced early marriage after being ill-treated by her husband and in-laws.
4. Smitha started her career as a touch-up artist and then got side roles in movies.
5. She got her first role in the movie Inaye Thedi, directed by director Anthony Eastman. He also gave her the name Smitha, which was instantly adopted by fellows in the industry.
6. She got her big break in the Tamil film industry after she met the late director Vinu Chakravarthy. He took guided her and his wife Karna Poo taught her English and arranged dance, acting and etiquette classes.
7. She acclaimed her first major role in the 1980 Tamil film “Vandichakkaram”. In the film, she portrayed the role of a bar girl whose name was Silk from which she acquired this name.
8. She impressed critics and audiences with her acting prowess in the movie Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), where she played a wife who was hurt by her husband’s rape of their maid, whom she passively allowed to enter her maid’s bathroom and stand “guard” during the shameful act, to prevent embarrassment to the family.
9. On the morning of September 23, 1996, Silk was found dead in her home in Chennai. According to the postmortem report written a few months after Smitha’s death, she committed suicide with alcohol in her system. The reason behind her death is still a mystery.

Movies Inspired by her life

The Dirty Picture (2011)

The Dirty Picture is inspired by the life of Silk Smitha. The film is directed by Milan Luthria and co-produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor. It stars Vidya Balan, Emraan Hashmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Tushaar Kapoor in lead roles. The film was released worldwide on December 2, 2011, on the birth anniversary of Silk Smitha in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.

According to the filmmakers, the film is not officially or literally based on Smitha alone, but on many of her contemporaries such as Disco Shanti. It also resembles the personal lives of other women in popular culture, including actresses like Marilyn Monroe.

Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga (2013)

Dirty Picture: Silk Sakkath Maga is a 2013 Kannada biographical film written and directed by Trishul. The film was produced by Venkatappa and stars Pakistani actress Veena Malik in the lead role. It also stars Akshay, Sana, Anitha Bhat and Srinivasa Murthy in supporting roles. The film was also released in Telugu and named as “Red Mirchi”. The film is inspired by the life of Silk Smitha and is about an aspiring actress who is ready to go to any extent to make it big in the film industry.

Climax (2013)

Climax is a 2013 Malayalam film directed by Anil Kumar, starring Sana Khan in the lead role. The film also takes inspiration from the life of the actress Silk Smitha but the beginning of the film has a disclaimer that the characters in the film are imaginary. The film was dubbed into Tamil titled Oru Nadigayin Diary and released on 24 May 2013.

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