The Hindi trailer of Vishal and SJ Suryah’s Mark Antony was unveiled today. The Tamil version of the trailer was dropped a while back and created a lot of buzz about the late glam queen Silk Smitha’s presence. Many felt that it was AI generated but was soon revealed that it’s the magic of make-up and sheen. At the pre-release event of the film in Mumbai today, the makers further confirmed that it’s Instagram model Vishnupriya Gandhi, who has played the south siren in the film.
Speaking to News18 exclusively, Vishal says that the contribution of Silk Smitha often got diminished because of her presence in eroticas. “There can be a replacement of Vishal. But Silk Smitha is someone who can never be replaced. She didn’t just add a glamour quotient to but her screen presence as an actor was also incredible. She had an amazing power to bring in the audience," he says.
Spilling the beans on how many top actors in the 1980s changed their scripts to fit her in the narrative, Vishal adds, “At the time when she was at the peak of her career, there were Tamil and Telugu superstars who used to say that they ant Silk Smitha to do a song in their films and would ask for the screenplay to be adjusted so that she could be included. They knew that she was a crowd puller."
In September 1996, Silk however died by suicide in her hotel room, which marked an end to an event life and illustrious character. “She had a tragic end to her life. It was very unexpected. She did 350 successful films across all languages," shares Vishal.
Talking about the actress who played her in Mark Antony, Vishal says, “Vishnupriya, who plays Silk Smitha in the film, would show me the last letter she wrote and what transpired four hours before she died. I told her to not dwell too much into. I told her,’You may look like Silk Smitha but don’t get into her head because it’s won’t be good for you’." He adds, “She might now receive the chance to do a biopic and mould herself (as Silk Smitha) even more."
Vishal further reveals that the sequence involving Silk was one of the most expensive shots in the film. “We had a good VFX team to make look like Silk Smitha. She was present in the film for about four minutes and that portion was very expensive. We spent a huge amount of money to make her look like Silk Smitha in every frame right from her skin to her face and teeth," he said.
He points out that having Silk in the film was never a way to ‘misuse’ her legacy or to titillate the audience. “Silk Smitha’s contribution to cinema is huge. We need to look beyond her glam quotient. In a scene, my character says that he hasn’t come to see Silk Smitha but Vijayalakshmi (Silk’s real name). She made a name for herself in a male-dominated industry. We used her as a crowd pulling strategy but didn’t want to misuse her," Vishal concludes.
The Hindi version of Mark Antony is all set to release in theatres on September 22. It is directed by Adhik Ravichandran.
