Remembering the intriguing Silk Smitha

The Dirty Picture might have managed to stir up a storm with the audiences, but looks like now it is the turn of its filmmaker to be shocked.

Silk Smitha's brother V Naga Vara Prasad has accused Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria, the makers of The Dirty Picture, of making a film on his sibling's life without the family's consent. They have also called the film 'obscene' and have send a legal notice to the team.

Team Dirty Picture is yet to respond to the notice.

Coming Up: Vidya's latest 'enhancement' for The Dirty Picture

The Dirty Picture starring Vidya Balan, reportedly based on the life of the dancing sensation of the 80s Silk Smitha, opened to full houses all over the country today. This is great news for the film which is helmed by a woman producer and banks on the main female actor, with no big male star. The film, fittingly, has been released on December 2, which is Silk's birthday.

This image, a still from a Tamil film showing Silk Smitha with superstar Rajinikanth.

Coming Up: A look at how intriguing was Silk in her short filmy career.

The forgotten story of Silk Smitha, born Vijayalakshimi, is intriguing as it is tragic.
Famous for her bold roles on screen, off screen, Silk Smitha's life was bereft of glamour. Rather, there was loneliness and tragedy.
She was born into a poor family in Eluru (in Andhra Pradesh) on December 2, 1960. Smitha left school after the fourth standard to become a film star.

She moved in with her aunt in Madras (Chennai) (then the centre of South Indian film industry), and soon found a sponsor who renamed her Smitha. She got the name ‘Silk' based on her role in the movie Vandi Chakkaram (The Wheel), in 1979.
She went on to star in over 200 Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and a few Hindi films. Her disillusionment in love finally got to her as she was found dead in her apartment in Chennai in 1996.
While many claimed that her death was a suicide, concluding from the note she left behind, the real reason behind her death still remains a mystery.

Some say alcohol addiction killed her. Others say it was overwhelming depression due to financial losses and her failed attempts to turn producer.
Take a look at Silk Smitha's selected filmography.

Her first major break came with the Tamil movie Vandi Chakkaram, in 1979 where she played a girl called Silk.
She impressed critics with her portrayal of a wife who is emotionally distraught because of a cheating husband in Alaigal Oivathillai( 1981).

In 1982 she got a minor role in the Chiranjeevi starrer Yamakinkarudu.
One year later she again played a supporting role in Moondru Mugam . Her bold dance numbers in movies made her a sex-symbol to watch out for.
Moondram Pirai, released in 1982, is perhaps Smitha's biggest movie. While Kamal Haasan and Sridevi were the leading stars, Smitha made her own mark as the headmaster's wife. The film was remade the following year as Sadma in Hindi which also starred Smitha as Soni.
In 1984 she starred in another Chiranjeevi movie called Challenge where she played Gollapudi's wife Primvada.
Layanam, released in 1989, was a soft-porn masala flick. The movie starred Silk Smitha, Abhilasha, Devishri and Nandu and was produced in Malayalam. It was the story of a young boy who gets intimately involved with three older women. The film gained more popularity later when two of its lead actors, Nandu and Silk, died under mysterious circumstances.
The same year she acted in Adharvam which starred Mammootty.
In 1995, a year before her death, Smitha was paired opposite Mohanlal in Sphadikam.
Before her death, the actress tried her hand at film production but failed.
Her item numbers have been noticed not just for the liberal skin show, but also for their grace.
Smitha was deeply religious; she had a shrine at home where she prayed several times a day.
Silk Smitha's cabarets and hot item numbers were considered essential to add some spice to the movies in the 80s.