GUPSHUP: Sex Sells! Kareena Kapoor's "Heroine", Vidya Balan's "Dirty Picture"

Sex sells. A cliche but very true. On the net the porn sites have the maximum crowd. In Bollywood a C-grade sleaze film will draw the front-bench riff-raff and the little paunchy producer will make a little profit. He is satisfied.

But the "sophisticated" directors and producers in Bollywood have raised the "Sex Sells" maxim to a new level. It draws in the multiplex crowds who wah-wah the sleaze (the little children squirm in the seats wondering what is going on as the parents get a shot of their erotic fancies). The producer gets the plaudits for making a "realistic" film. The press gives it rave reviews. TV plays its promos day and night showing the scantily clad heroine. Higher TRPs, you see. The actress who moans and grunts in the film gets all the awards. Why? Because it is not a sex flick, you know. It is meaningful cinema.

Everyone is happy.

It happened with "Dirty Picture". Ekta Kapoor made lots of money and was acclaimed as a maker of meaningful cinema. Vidya Balan got so many awards that probably she had to reserve an extra room in her house to store them.

Madhur Bhandarkar tried his luck with Heroine.Kareena Kapoor tried her luck with Heroine. With mixed results. The film got a lesser response. The novelty of the idea has worn off. "Dirty Picture" had the first-born's advantage.

Who the hell cares about scruples about making money en cashing poor Silk Smitha's life.