Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; January 14, 2015)

Shamitabh’s plot has been carefully kept under the wraps — all because R Balki wants it that way. But as unconventional as it can get, along with the hatke story that Shamitabh is boasting of, the director has introduced a very hatke approach to filmmaking as well. Unlike all other Bollywood films, Balki decided to get the cast finish the dubbing for the film before they went on floors with the film. A source from the production informs, “Balki sir wanted to style Shamitabh very differently. He is known to make different kinds of films and with Shamitabh, he somehow improvised a new strategy. He made all the actors including Big B, Dhanush and Akshara dub their lines before they started shooting for the film”.

Strange as it sounds, the source clarifies that Balki knew what he was doing. “He exactly knew what he wanted from his actors. His main intention was to get his actors into the characters before the film rolled out. Initially, everyone was taken aback with such a decision but later things turned out extremely well”. Did that help? “Yes, the actors felt at ease with the script there after,” the source confirms.

But one question that immediately pops your mind is why Dhanush was not asked to dub? “He plays a mute character in the film —an actor who cannot speak and hence needs a dubbing artist who dubs for him, played by Big B. Hence he has no dialogues in the film”, clarified the source.