On the occasion of what would have been Silk Smitha's 64th birthday, STRI Cinemas has announced a biopic on the life of the famed actress. Titled Silk Smitha: Queen of the South, the film is set to follow the controversial life of Smitha during her years in the entertainment industry.
Directed by Jayaram Sankaran and bankrolled by S.B. Vijay Amritharaj, the role of Smitha will be essayed by Chandrika Ravi, an Australian actress of Indian origin. The film is set to begin production in 2025. The makers released a short preview of the film, much to the netizen's excitement.
Who is Silk Smitha?
Vijayalakshmi Vadlapati, better known by her stage name Silk Smitha, was born on December 2, 1960, in Andhra Pradesh. Before entering stardom, she began as a touch-up artist and later made small appearances in films.
Her first role came in Antony Eastman's Malayalam film Inaye Thedi, alongside Kalasala Babu and Achankunju. It was during the shoot of this film, that Eastman gave her the name Smitha. Her Tamil debut inVinu Chakravarthy's Vandichakkaram marked her big break in the industry, playing the character Silk.
Though the film gained her immense success, Smitha found herself typecast in future films due to her marked sex appeal in Vandichakkaram. She has an impressive filmography spread across several South Indian languages and a few Hindi films.
Moondru Mugam, Amaran, Halli Meshtru, Alaigal Oivathillai, Layanam, and Reshma Ki Jawani are a few of her best films. She was also in Balu Mahendra's Moondram Pirai, alongside Sridevi and Kamal Hassan, which was later remade in Hindi as Sadma, with all three reprising their roles.
She was placed in the category of erotica actresses and quickly became a sex symbol in the entertainment industry.
On September 23, 1996, Smitha was found hanging from the ceiling of her hotel room, and subsequently pronounced dead. A suicide note was found in the room which led the police to believe that depression was the cause of the drastic step.
The Dirty Picture, a biopic inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, was released in 2011. Vidya Balan played the lead role, with Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor, Emraan Hashmi, and Bobby Singh.