Milan Luthria’s Vidya Balan starrer “The Dirty Picture” has been a commercial and critical success in Bollywood as well as internationally. It told a story of a celebrated artist who climbed the steps to riches too soon, but who was pushed off from the tip by many of her contemporaries. This is Silk Smitha for you.
Having very meagre beginnings, Silk Smitha was quick to adapt to any location and story plot. Many of her contemporaries have been heard saying that she is an artist who is not at all demanding and very comfortable to work with, a professional to her core. Her initial films became a quick hit and in the spin of a moment we saw her usurp the throne of South Indian heroines at the time. If her success was sudden, so was her downfall. Blissfully ignorant of her colleagues waiting to pounce on her. Smitha celebrated her life like no other. She was vibrant and full of energy, they say.
Most of the industry was shocked to hear of her suicide, may be because of this. Why would such a vibrant, young girl like Smitha, commit suicide? We have already torn her personal life into pieces by attributing the reason to be her failed love relationships. Most of us have never thought about the mental and emotional grief she went through, in her downfall phase. She could not get enough films, and could manage only some song appearances. Her financial difficulty could have been managed somehow. But the level of mental trauma, not getting the attention she was used to, as an audience, I feel that was what hit her too hard. Her poster was on our walls one day, and the next day, she sees it being stamped on. That is when she felt lost. Smitha’s is a story of riches to rags.
The porn industry is more professional than others, going by the experiences shared by its artists. This is where Sunny Leone enters and flourishes hysterically. There is not one Malayali who does not know her. Hers is a magical story. She is loved today as much as she was loved earlier. Working in the porn industry has not made her a taboo in our society (at-least in the mainstream). She need not be a taboo, it was her work, similar to what she is doing now. I cannot find anything wrong with it, and most of us don’t. Her journey has been slow and gradual, which is why we know she is here to stay and slay.
Karenjit Kaur Vohra was an Indian girl who was plucked off her roots in India and planted in Canada in her young years. It may have been due to financial crises, that she started doing porn films, like Smitha who also had very meagre beginnings. Unlike Smitha’s, Sunny Leone’s growth was slow and gradual. She had to give her life, blood and sweat to this industry to become an integral part of it.
Today, Sunny Leone is one of those people who is above all gender dichotomies and differences. Everyone is eager to meet her and her interviews reveal a genuine and graceful feminine spirit. Sunny Leone’s story is a rags to riches one, unlike Smitha’s. Undoubtedly both Sunny Leone and Silk Smitha are two amazing artists and much more beautiful souls we can be proud of!
We are all in the race to find our own happiness, fighting our own demons. When it comes to Cinema, the battles are a bit too hard to handle. Be it Sunny Leone, Silk Smitha, or any other numerous artists we are blessed with, they have all entertained us and had been factors in relaxing our stressed out mind. They do what they do, to make a living and share their happiness with us.
Audience can make or break a star. We can lead them up to the peak of success and in no time push them down from there. Lets not do what we did to Smitha, as an artist. As viewers we will celebrate only successful people. If a celebrity fail once, we keep trolling them and forget that they are also human beings who are going through enough stress of their own.
We can at-least try not to degrade those who fail at some point, because nobody can be consistently successful. Failure is a part of any industry. Lets mend this attitude of stamping one who has already fallen down, and make way for them to be up on their feet again.
A traveller at heart, writing is my art. Love is my God and this world is my home. Music is the drug and Cinema is the flame.
Good one.. keep on writing.