Filmmaker R Balki loves the unique way of storytelling that Bollywood films have, and does not want them to give up on their originality to compete with Hollywood
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 24, 2020)

He has a number of critically-acclaimed and commercially successful films to his credit, but even after 13 years as a filmmaker, R Balki feels there is a lot to learn. “Cinema is huge and vast and it keeps changing. There are so many people telling so many wonderful stories. What’s unique about Bollywood is that we have a distinctive way of storytelling and a unique language. We should try to take that forward and not try to be like the West — of course, not in terms of technology which we should improve on — but I mean in terms of storytelling,” he says, adding that at times, we curse certain kinds of Hindi films and wonder when will we up our standards or win the Oscars, “which is wrong”.

“I feel there is a lot of originality in Bollywood. Nobody has our language of cinema around the world. So, why should Bollywood change? That’s our originality and why are we hell-bent on being something else? I am sure a film with our originality and our voice can make a mark in the world as the world too wants to see unique stories. Look at the Academy-Award winning film Parasite,” he says.

The filmmaker, who has directed and written Cheeni Kum (2007), Paa (2009), Shamitabh (2015), Ki & Ka (2016) and Pad Man (2018), admits that simplicity has always worked for him as a storyteller. “Not having too many complications in the story works. The only film that didn’t work at the box-office was Shamitabh, perhaps because the concept was good but we tried to pack in a lot in the film which backfired,” he says. Ask him about his next project and he says, “I love watching films and never itch to get back to direction. I am working on a script, let’s see how it goes.”

Balki doesn’t follow a plan neither does he have a goal to make a movie every few years. “I let a thought stay with me for a long time before I decide I should put in that one year writing it and another year making it. Filmmaking is a laborious process and I would rather not take things forward unless I really feel for the subject at hand,” he concludes.