Mangalore girl Anushka Shetty was reportedly approached to enact the role played by Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture. It was said that the actress had given her nod to star in the biopic of yesteryear sex siren Silk Smitha. However, now her manager has denied the reports and has claimed that it is not true.

Earlier, rumours were rife that the production house, which had acquired the south Indian remake rights of The Dirty Picture, zeroed in on Anushka Shetty, and Nikita of Saroja fame to star in Tamil and Telugu versions, respectively. While the latter confirmed the news that she had been approached, the former has now cleared that she has not been offered the role famously played by Vidya Balan. Anushka is currently busy filming Selvaraghavan’s Irandam Ulagam, Karthi starrer Alex Pandian and Vikram's Thaandavam.