Even as Hurricane Bodyguard sweeps through the country smashing all existing opening day records, the only challenger to the unstoppable Salman Khan comes in the form of Vidya Balan. Make that Vidya Balan in a red sari heaving to something to the effect of Ooh la la, tu hai meri fantessy.

The theatrical trailer of Ekta Kapoor’s The Dirty Picture, which was unleashed amid the Bodyguard frenzy, is an instant eyeball-grabber. Balan who plays the central character in this biopic inspired by Southern starlet, Silk Smitha, packs in a oomphy wallop. Youtube and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have gone ga ga over her. Compliments are pouring in from colleagues and competitors alike. Sonam Kapoor tweeted her feelings: “Ohmigod just saw the promo of The Dirty Picture. Vidya Balan, I bow down to you. You are bold, provocative and brilliant.” Balan, who is literally in the hot seat, is feeling the love. “I wanted to reply to everyone but I’m unable to get a grip on my phone due to the artificial nails that I’m sporting for the song that I’m shooting,” she laughs. Balan’s especially touched by Kapoor’s tweet. “I’m more than flattered with what she said,” she says. Since there’s still a fair bit of wait till the release of the film, December 2, Balan would like to tone down the trailer praise, deafening as it may be. “We are still shooting the film and we cannot afford to lose our steam. We are still wired on telling a good story,” she says.