Gaining wads of weight, browsing through Silk Smitha flicks and researching - Sana Khan is a busy girl nowadays. We hear that the ‘Silambattom’ star is leaving no stone unturned to get into the skin of her character in ‘Climax’, the Malayalam biopic on Silk Smitha.
“Earlier I knew only the bare basics about Silk. But after watching ‘The Dirty Picture’ I realised she was no less than a legend down south and the buzz she created in the industry is simply incredible. Films were sold because of her and it’s a crazy thing in a male dominated, superstar-ridden world. What she concocted was pure magic and we are trying to recreate that magic,” says an excited Sana.
Despite the hype and hoopla the film is creating, Sana believes her role in the film is a high-risk affair.
“If it was just the role of an item girl, it would have been easier. Smitha is more like an icon and playing her will be a nerve-wrecking exercise for me. Moreover there is only a thin distinction between playing Silk and becoming Silk. When you are playing the role of an on-screen seductress you cannot predict where it goes overboard. I am playing Silk in this film, but after the film I should not become Silk,” says Sana.
Portraying Silk requires oodles of oomph and Vidya Balan had to shed her clothes for her boldest performance ever in ‘The Dirty Picture’. Sana, who had donned a variety of getups for her Tamil and Telugu films, says playing Smitha is no striptease. She adds that there will not be a generous dose of skin show in the film and nor is she prepared for a crowd going berserk blowing wolf whistles a la ‘Dirty Picture’.
“If I am playing an item girl I have to show some skin. You can’t expect me completely clad, but there won’t be any exposure of the ‘Dirty Picture’ level either. We want to show Silk as a positive person and ‘Climax’ will be a U certified film targeting family audience,” says Sana.
She adds that she had inhibitions accepting the offer first.
“I have done a village belle and a metro girl and for my last film in Telugu I played a bartender. I would love to experiment with all sorts of roles and genres. But when they gave me the signing amount and explained what exactly was my character, I was scared. Mumbai is a very different place, the audience here are attuned to extreme degrees of exposure. But people down south, especially Malayalis, are not used to such things. But ‘Climax’ has no love making scene, no car scene or whatever steamy scene Vidya has done in Hindi,” she says.
‘Climax’ will be have an unadulterated plot as the story is penned by Antony Eastman, the man who introduced Smitha to Malayalam.
“Unlike ‘Dirty Picture’ the element of fiction will be near to zero in ‘Climax’. The biopic will be more authentic as people who have known Silk personally like Antony Eastman and Kaloor Dennis are behind it,” says Sana.
The filming begins by July 15 in Coimbatore and Sana says she plans to watch maximum Silk films so that she can easily get into the mood and mind of her character.
“Other than some songs and pictures I haven’t seen any of her major works. But during the shoot I will be carrying CDs with me to watch whenever possible so that I will stay put at the ‘Silk zone’. I want to be completely in sync with Silk for the one whole month of filming.”
Silk belongs to an era when they believed real women have curves and size zero was something unheard of. And to look the roly-poly siren Sana was asked to put on weight.
“As of now I have gained four kilos. Gaining weight is so damn easy, but losing it will take my life out. I will have to undergo a total makeover for the film and since national-award winning makeup artist Pattanom Rasheed is taking care of that area I feel confident,” she says.
Another thing that keeps the actress upbeat is finally she is entering a place where she belongs. “My father is from Kannur and I am keeping my fingers crossed for my first Mollywood film,” chirps the half-Malayali actress.