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.

Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 12, 2020)

He has directed Amitabh Bachchan in three films — Cheeni Kum (2007), Paa (2009) and Shamitabh (2015), yet filmmaker R Balki says it is never easy to get “Mr Bachchan on board for a project or a film. It never was and never will be”.

It’s been five years since his last Bachchan and Dhanush-starrer, Shamitabh released and talking about it, Balki quips, “It feels like it flopped just yesterday (laughs). It is not always about whether a film works or not, but it’s more about what you remember about the journey. Shamitabh was special as we did something no one had done before. We may have gone wrong but we still cherish the experience. It was an ode to the greatest voice in Hindi cinema, that of Mr Bachchan. I am sad that the film didn’t work because of what it paid tribute to.”

Shamitabh is the story of a speech-impaired aspiring actor Dhanush who gets a chip fitted in his larynx to enable him to speak with someone else’s voice. A failed actor played by Amitabh Bachchan provides the voice, leading to stardom and eventually, ego clashes.

“Dhanush was fabulous in the film and so was Akshara Haasan. This was the first film where we recorded the dialogues before canning the shots, which was quite unusual. Dhanush had to act to the dialogues, and they were like the background composition. The techniques were novel and it was painful to shoot,” recalls Balki.

Though the filmmaker-actor duo have had a great working relationship, Balki admits that he always looks for something unique in a role or story before taking it to the senior actor. “My motto is to make a special film with him and push the envelope. Otherwise, why make it at all? Our associations worked because I never think too much about how a role or a story starring Amitji would work out,” he says.

Balki is currently working on a script and rumours are that his next directorial will star Bachchan. Ask him about it and he says, “I am writing a script, let’s see how it goes. Only once I finish the script, will I think about the next step. I have written scripts with actors in mind, but not every script takes that path. For the current script, I am not thinking of any actor right now,” he concludes.

Dhanush shares what’s on his wish-list for future projects...
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2019)

Dhanush is gearing up for the release of his Hollywood debut, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, based on Romain Puertolas’s bestselling novel. The author and his director Ken Scott who have collaborated on the screenplay, came to Mumbai for research. “They figured it all out, I just had to shoot my part,” he smiles, saying one of the producers had contacted him and though initially hesitant, he was won over by the script even though going global was not on his to-do list. “I don’t plan things, they often fall into place organically. I am blessed to have met the right people at the right time.”

The film, screened at Cannes last year, is a subtle take on immigrants and Dhanush admits that though their worlds are different their journeys follows a similar graph. “Even mine is an extraordinary journey,” he says.

Since R Balki’s Shamitabh in 2015, Dhanush hasn’t been seen in a Hindi film. The break, he asserts, wasn’t intentional and at the same time he doesn’t segregate between Hindi and Tamil cinema but see them as one big industry received differently by different audiences. “I’ve liked a script, you will see me in a Hindi film soon,” he promises, believing Shamitabh was way ahead of its time but he is still proud to have been a part of the film.

With content decimating regional and language barriers, there is much to explore and a great time to be an actor. And having played diverse characters, Dhanush now wishes to dive into the negative space. “I want to play a villain who’s the hero (central character) of the film,” he reveals.

He also wants to work with Shankar, who last directed his father-in-law Rajinikanth in 2.0. “But it would happen only if Shankar sir thinks so,” he says. And what about a film featuring Rajini and him? “I hope it happens someday but so many things have to fall in place for that. Rajinikanth is unbelievable, no one can pull off what he does,” he marvels. What are dinner table conversations like in a family of actors? He laughs, “We interact like any other family and since we’re in the same profession, discuss work sometimes.” 

Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; September 17, 2016)

Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; March 31, 2016)

Paa director Balki, ahead of his next release, a love story that challenges established gender roles work
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; March 6, 2016)

"After Shamitabh, I got umpteen calls and messages from Amitji and Jayaji, saying you better not wait another four years to make a movie. Start now!” laughs writer-director R Balakrishnan, 50, better known in the film fraternity as Balki.

It’s been a year since Shamitabh released, and his next film, Ki and Ka, will be out next month. “I told them I was tired, I wanted to take a break. But they said, no way! Make a movie now. So, I sat right here…” he says, throwing a look around the Khar office he operates from, “ and thought of an idea — a love story.” Starring Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor, Ki and Ka follows what happens when established gender roles are reversed. Kareena plays an aggressive professional, while Arjun is a docile house husband, who chooses to “be this way, when he could have been whatever he wanted”.

With Ki & Ka, Balki is seeking to challenge the slots we have created in our minds and society. “I wanted to show a different side to love. I like starting my movies at a point different from anything seen before. How does a man express his love for a woman when he is doing what a woman does?” Before he casted for the film, he came across a picture of Kareena and Arjun in a magazine, and realised they would fit the bill. “I wanted a hunk of a man, as masculine as can be. And a girl who is the epitome of femininity. When someone who is out - there manly performs a feminine role, the audience could feel disconcerted, but eventually, they’ll relate to the characters. It turned out to be a fun, light movie.”

Balki, who is known for telling thought-provoking, but simple stories — Cheeni Kum and Paa — wants the audience to walk out of cinemas feeling, "Maybe, we could live like this too."

And yet, he doesn't know what works for the audience. With decades of advertising experience (he is behind the hugely popular ‘daag ache hain’ campaign), and as Chairman and Creative Director of Lowe Lintas, you’d expect him to know what the audience ‘will buy’. “I actually don’t. Nobody does. Some movies work, some don’t. God knows why Paa worked and Shamitabh didn’t. It’s a matter of what the moviegoer wants at that moment.”

He says it’s the same for advertising. “For instance, we made a Pepsodent ad in 2001. A musician played the ghattam, which is a matka played like a drum. A kid played the same kind of music by drumming his fingers on his teeth. This idea didn’t gel with the audience; they thought it was a Colgate ad, because Pepsodent had never associated itself with the image of a strong teeth, germ fighting toothpaste. I thought it was a brilliant ad, but it didn’t work.”

What he is clear about, though, is that Bollywood needs entertaining movies. “[We need] movies that engage people. But what engages people also changes every two years, so, it’s not like we are making better movies now than we were before.” He picks a subject “that’s trippy”, and then justifies the trip by being disciplined about making it. “Pick a subject people are curious to know more about. That’s how you’ll reach out to everyone. That’s the aim.”

BOMBAY TIMES (March 5, 2016)

Amitabh Bachchan will be seen in a special appearance
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 5, 2015)

R Balki's as-yet-untitled film rolls on July 1 in Mumbai with a start-to-finish 30-day schedule. The light-hearted love story features Arjun Kapor and Kareena Kapoor playing a married couple. And Amitabh Bachchan as a father figure in a special appearance.

Says a source close to the development, "The role was discussed with Mr. Bachchan on the sets of Shamitabh itself. Every film Balki has made features Mr. Bachchan and that's not going to change in the future."

The source adds that Big B, who co-produced Shamitabh, did not take a single rupee out of the pie and this time too he's acting for free.

The film is a modestly budgeted "quickie". And Balki has ordered the unit to not spend on unwanted extras, props or locations. To top it all, he will not be filming for more than a month.

When contacted Balki said, "I'm still writing the film."

We catch Amitabh Bachchan in a unique mood. In a long, candid chat, he veers from being misty and nostalgic about his father and the other people who shaped his life, to being upbeat and excited about how he still manages to get challenging roles
Shubha Shetty Saha (MID-DAY; May 31, 2015)

He walks in exactly at the scheduled time for the interview. Yet again showing that his penchant for punctuality hasn’t taken a beating even after 46 years in this industry, which is full of people who have scant respect for other people’s time.

He is dressed in a kurta pajama with a shawl across his shoulders, reminiscent of his dad — the celebrated poet late Harivanshrai Bachchan. Talking about his father, Bachchan says he truly wishes he had the willpower that his dad did.

He goes on to narrate two amazing anecdotes from his father’s life to reiterate his point. “My father’s dedication to whatever he thought of and making sure that it was achieved purely by his willpower was phenomenal. I must tell you about these incidents. Pandit Nehru once asked my father to translate a biography written on him by Micheael Brecher from English to Hindi. He wanted to publish it by his birthday, (November 14) which was just about three months later.

My father had so much to do in such little time, so he would sit in his study for hours together. He would hang a painting outside the door, so that we know that we should not be disturbing him. But one day we got worried because he hadn’t come out of the study for about 20 hours. When I went in to check on him, I saw that he had kept his left hand in a bowl of water. When I asked him about it, he said, “My left hand is paining. Actually my right hand was paining because I have been writing non-stop, so I willed the pain to go from right to left, and now the left hand is paining so I have kept it in a bowl of water to get some relief’,” he says.

Rock solid
"Another time, when we were staying in New Delhi, he would go for his morning walk around 4 am. He would find some figurines on rocks in the area and he would bring them home and paint them. One day, he came back from his walk and woke me up. He was standing next to a huge boulder just outside the house. He wanted it brought in as he wanted to paint the garud (eagle) on it. The boulder was so huge that I had to get some four or five people to take it inside. I asked my father how he managed to bring it till outside the house. So he told me that he had seen it some time back and so, for three months, every morning he would push it about three inches towards the house, till he managed to get it outside the house. That’s the kind of willpower I am talking about. He was just amazing,” he says with a sigh that seemed mixed with a tinge of regret at having lost him.

Band of friends
Ask him if older also means lesser friends and lesser people you love and admire, he nods. He says, “I always believe that once you are someone’s friend, you are a friend for life. Once you share a part of your life with someone, you cannot disown them. I will always have that respect for a friend, irrespective of whether the other person respects or not. Yes, as you grow older, there are fewer friends around you. My samdhi, Shweta’s father-in-law (Rajan Nanda), once told me something very pertinent when a friend of mine passed away. He told me over the phone, “Now is the time when you don’t make friends, you lose them.” It is very sad, but it is the fact of life. As you grow older, so many people are gone from your life. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, the gentleman who gave me a break in my career, is gone, people who shaped my career like Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra, Shakti Samanta... they are gone. SD Burman, RD Burman, so many people. When you are with them, you are full of vigour and joy and never imagine that there will be a time when they are not going to be around, even if you want to, you won’t be able to see them again.”

Cashing in on that emotional mood he’s in, we ask him whether he is still romantic at heart, he laughs. “I hope so. Yes, filmmaking itself is a romantic thing. Love necessarily doesn’t have to be a male-female equation. I am in love with my granddaughter. I could be in love with my phones. Every two seconds I am looking at them. We are all married to our phones. Romance has different connotations...’ But what about male female romance? Does he have infatuations?

“It is not the age for that now.” Tell him romance is ageless and he agrees, “Yes, I am envious and sad that I am not young enough to play the leading roles with girls like Deepika (Padukone), Kangana (Ranaut), Vidya (Balan), Alia (Bhatt), etc.’


His role as Deepika’s eccentric father in 'Piku' was well appreciated. Congratulate him about it and he chooses to be modest. “I think on moments like these you should give credit to the person who thinks and writes such characters. I would give all credit to Shoojit (Sircar, the director of the film) and Juhi (Chaturvedi, the writer).

Tell him his role role of an eccentric character needed a lot of restraint as there was a danger of it going overboard and he nods in agreement. “That’s a very good observation because most of the times when we do caricatures, we tend to go overboard. What worked for us was that we were all made to be immersed in this world, a typical, conventional Bengali home in CR Park, Delhi. There is no story as such. It is just how people converse. Most of the Bengali community in Delhi stays in CR Park, if you notice that happens everywhere. Every community builds its own area if they are out of their home state. So there was this setting of the house, which was so typical. The whole ambience of the house, the photograph of the maa… we didn’t feel like we were playing those characters, we were those people. I actually wanted more Bengali in the film, but some of the portions, there were some lovely scenes like where there is a banter between Moushumi (Chatterjee) and me had to be sadly edited out. The producers felt that they didn’t want anything to go over the head for Hindi speaking audiences.”

Set up
Shoojit’s film set-up reminds him of a Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie. “I doubt that I have felt anything like this after Hrishida. And that’s wonderful for Shoojit because Hrishida had that capability of walking the middle path, not too left and not too right. I would also like to give credit to the audience for having noticed the undercurrents and also having gotten attached to it.”

He says it’s time we recognise the intelligence of the audience, “We should be kicking ourselves now. We have a wonderful audience which is so ready to patronise different kind of stories. But we are still stuck on thinking that only those typical extravaganzas do well.”

Bachchan says he’s familiar with the Bengali culture that worked in his favour. “I have lived and worked for seven years in Kolkata and since Jaya and my in-laws are Bengalis, you pick up on little things.


This success, which he says came as an absolute surprise to the team, must have been a relief after the debacle and disappointment of his last film, 'Shamitabh'.

“I don’t know what went wrong with 'Shamitabh'. Balki (director of the film) and I did have a chat about it wondering what went wrong. I had loved the concept which was unique and different. But I am happy I did the role, in fact, I am just grateful that I still get to do such challenging roles. It is funny that when you are younger and playing lead roles, you don’t get the opportunity to play such diverse roles. As a leading man, you are just romancing a girl, doing action and that’s about it,” he says with a broad smile. “This is just a wonderful time. Not only do I get the satisfaction of doing things that I have not done before but also being on the same frame with the actor of younger generation. They are all fabulous. I really feel that by far the actors of Indian cinema are the most fascinating talent. Every actor is an evolved actor and when we entered films, we were so lost. I am not evolved even after 46 years and still learning. But these youngsters know bang on from the first film. They find it very odd that I don’t have a manager or a stylist and they say, why do you do things yourself? Who reads the scripts for you? And now I realise we carried all the responsibilities all this while and they have diluted their pressures so easily by delegating work. There is a method in what they do, whereas we just went on with whatever came our way. Look at Kangana, she is incredible in 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns'. I would struggle to do something like that. Look at the other actors around her in the film, everyone is absolutely marvellous.”

Bachchan’s next film, Bejoy Nambiar’s 'Wazir', is produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani. “I don’t have the permission to talk about it, but I can say this much that I am on a wheelchair throughout the film and Farhan Akhtar plays a cop. There are some relationship issues which are common to both parties. Technically Bejoy is very sound. The dramatic thriller will release in October.”

Ask him if he’s proud of his baritone and the way he modulates his voice, and he says with a hint of a blush, “What baritone? A lot of guys have voice like mine.”

Has it ever worked against him? “I like it if my a voice can be put to good use. There have been instances when I tried to go away from the voice, like in 'Agneepath', but it worked against the film. I had to redub the voice, because the audience started attacking the theatre owners thinking something is wrong with their sound system. I try and use my voice for social causes, I am more than happy to do that,” he says just before bidding us adieu in that very sexy voice.

DNA (May 7, 2015)


This would be their fourth collaboration. According to a source close to both, Balki is planning a “wild wacky comedy” and “out-and-out fun film” with the Big B.

Says the source, “It’s become a habit for Balki and Big B to think out of the box. That won’t change because Shamitabh didn’t do well. They’re already working on another completely unexpected idea. I can tell you this much. This time audiences are going to be even more shocked than when Mr B romanced Tabu in Cheeni Kum.”

AN ANALYSIS OF THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2015

The first quarter of the year is about to get over and have been pretty okay. The first quarter of 2014 had delivered hits in the form of Queen and Ragini MMS 2 and also a 100-crore grosser – Jai Ho. However, 2015’s first quarter has been poor. Films that were expected to fetch good numbers like Alone, I, Dolly Ki Doli, Shamitabh, Khamoshiyan, Roy etc turned out to be huge flops. What surprised many was how some of the films were made on an insanely huge budget. Hawaizaada and Shamitabh turned out to be disasters thanks to the costs involved. Both these films hardly attracted viewers and got entry into the list of ‘biggest disasters of recent times’. Roy opened well and might have recovered going by the opening weekend numbers. Sadly, the content was outright disappointing. It started dropping from Day 4 heavily, that left many shocked.

Thankfully, few films made a mark commercially. Baby opened on an average note but held up very, very well. Badlapur attracted people despite the violent theme. Same goes for NH10. Dum Laga Ke Haisha had a very poor opening. But it was a fabulous film and hence sustained beautifully, even during weekdays.

However, a big commercial hit is missing in the first quarter. The industry has suffered many such setbacks previously but sadly, lessons are never learnt. And everyone has to make an effort. The makers on their part should make films on reasonable costs (which is very much possible). This also includes not overspending on publicity. For instance, NH10 was made in 3-4 crores and almost 8-9 crores were spent on publicity. It is said that the film would have opened with similar numbers if the makers had spent even half the amount on publicity. Hence, correct and impactful marketing is the key. Just by going all out is not a guarantee that people will throng to see the film. And more important than the cost is the fact that makers should invest in good scripts. The success of NH10 and Dum Laga Ke Haisha has proved how people are ready to see different subjects. The multiplex wallahs on their post should bring costs down on an immediate basis. It’s shocking to see tickets priced at 300-400 bucks during weekends, for all kinds of films! Theatre owners should realize that they are bound to lose a chunk of audience by having such inflated ticket rates. Thirdly, the audience should be smart as well. There are times when genuine efforts go unnoticed just because those films weren’t ‘typical entertainers’. Audiences should realize that they should invest their hard-earned films on good films, whether or not it’s entertaining in the conventional manner.

However, there’s a lot to cheer. The next quarter promises some fabulous films like Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Dharam Sankat Mein, Mr X, Gabbar Is Back, Piku, Mastizaade, Welcome Back, Bombay Velvet, Dil Dhadakne Do, Hamari Adhuri Kahani etc. Hope good times are here and they are here to stay!

Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; March 26, 2015)


Abhishek Bachchan is a reluctant producer. He’s produced Paa (2009) and Shamitabh (2015). That’s a big gap between two films. And that’s not about to change anytime soon.

Does he see himself growing as a producer in the coming years? He confesses he has ideas for the films he will act in, but says he’s clueless about what he will produce in the next couple of years. “As a production house, there is no place for ‘three years down the line’. I don’t see myself as a regular production house. I don’t want to become a studio. I want to make the kind of films that can inspire me at any point of time to produce.”

He further adds, “I don’t like production. I hate being a producer. Very honestly. I enjoy the pre-production part of it, but once the film goes on the floors, I absolutely hate it. Predominantly because when I did Paa, I was very conflicted between being the producer and the actor. The actor in me wanted to do one more take, but the producer in me kept saying ‘Okay, we are running out of time’. I didn’t like that. I like the idea of setting up a budget, putting the project together.. I enjoy that process.”

AB Jr has no plans to produce a film right now, but never say never. As he says, “If I feel creatively inspired to make a film, I will produce it.”

I have so many friends in the industry and he is only one of them
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 10, 2015)

Films made on dreary subjects tend to do less than stellar business. Should revenge drama Badlapur be worried?
Subhash K Jha (DNA; February 19, 2015)


But how do you sell this ‘realism’ to the masses, fed on a regular diet of fantasy, farce and skin? Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly tried — it was called his best work to date by critics and viewers alike — but was a box-office failure.

Then came Neeraj Pandey’s Baby, a slick thriller on global terrorism, starring Akshay Kumar. The film did well, critics loved it, but trade experts felt it should have done much, much better.

R Balki teamed up a third time with Big B for Shamitabh. It left the audiences cold. Admits Balki, “Especially the last 20 minutes where the film turned into a tragedy... that killed the film. The audience doesn’t want to emerge from the theatre heavy-hearted. They want to feel good about life. The response I got from the audiences when I visited the theatre was, ‘Heavy hai’. The audience doesn’t want anything heavy.”

A few months after Badlapur, Anushka Sharma’s gritty NH10 follows. If the trailer is any indication, it will be a fast-paced, nail-biting escape thriller, and in equal doses ‘dark’ and ‘heavy’.

Will Badlapur buck the trend, though? While he admits dark isn’t the flavour of the season at the B-O, critic Raja Sen adds, “While such films have always been a hardsell, this one seems to be both dark and sexy.
There is a visceral appeal to this hard actioner. We all hope that Sriram can deliver.”

THE BIG QUESTION
Varun Dhawan ’s the quintessential chocolate-boy hero. Will he successfully trade in the grin for the grim?

Shruti Haasan on singing Stereophonic Sannata in Shamitabh
Lakshmi V (BOMBAY TIMES; February 13, 2015)

Subhash K Jha (DNA; February 10, 2015)


“Mani Ratnam sir texted me to tell me how much he liked Shamitabh. Such praise means a lot to any artiste,” gushes Dhanush, adding that he chose Shamitabh to be his second Hindi film after being offered several scripts. He says, “I am aware I am not a conventionally good-looking hero. I did not see myself fitting in the 33 scripts that came to me before Shamitabh did. It was only with Balki’s film that I felt an immediate empathy.”

He is now all set to start his third Hindi film. “It is a very intense love story, the kind I haven’t done so far. When I heard the script I felt this would take Aanand (L Rai) sir and me beyond what we’ve done in Raanjhanaa. We start this film after he completes Tanu Weds Manu 2, most probably in December.”

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; February 9, 2015)

Abhishek Bachchan was supposed to attend the opening ceremony of the weeklong Kala Ghoda Arts festival on Saturday evening. But Abhishek Bachchan turned up in his place. Reason? A back sprain forced Big B to back out of the event at the last minute.

A source says, “Amitabh Bachchan had committed to be present at the opening ceremony with his Shamitabh co-star Akshara Haasan. However, that morning, he ended up hurting his back during his regular workout. He was then advised bed rest and could not attend the opening gala of the festival.”

With Big B retiring hurt, son Abhishek decided to fill in for his father and made an appearance in the evening along with Akshara. A source says, “The Bachchans are known for their professionalism and punctuality.
Mr Bachchan did not want to create problems for the organisers by pulling out of the event at the last minute. So, since Abhishek was present in town for one of his commitments in the afternoon, he headed off straight to the festival inauguration.”

While Sr Bachchan’s spokesperson confirms the news, the actor also announced it online in a post that read: “Pulled back muscle at gym .. arrgh ... will not be going for opening of KalaGhoda fest .. in bed resting pain ..

One of the most fascinating lessons in science for me was the idea of symbiotic relationship. Ask.com sums it well: “A symbiotic relationship occurs when two organisms, individuals or groups of people work together by helping one another with the intent of getting help in return. In a symbiotic relationship, the two people or groups of people live together to provide the greatest benefits to one another.” Shamitabh rests on this idea and has a very novel and unique premise that could have made for an engaging and one of its kind film. Very unfortunately, the direction is not consistent and worse of all, the film goes downhill completely in the finale. A good idea gone haywire!

The story of the movie: Daanish (Dhanush) lives in Igatpuri and is a crazy movie buff. He aspires to be a Bollywood hero despite being mute. One day he reaches Mumbai and tries his best to meet top directors but fails to do so. Akshara (Akshara Haasan), an assistant director realizes that Daanish has the potential but thanks to his handicap, she doesn’t feel that he can make it big. However, she chances upon a new, revolutionizing technology that can help Daanish get a voice. Amitabh Sinha (Amitabh Bachchan), a reclusive alcoholic, becomes Daanish’s voice. However, the challenges are not done yet.

There’s no denying that Shamitabh is trying to say something different. The beginning is terrific and Daanish’s childhood portion is hilarious and very well thought of. Same goes for Piddly – there’s more to the song than just Amitabh singing in the bathroom! And it’s bloody awesome! And the entire idea of a mute hero being voiced by someone else is innovative and it results in some great moments. Also, the film doesn’t bore at all and keeps one engaged. However, the direction is great at places and not-so-good otherwise. Amitabh’s conversations with himself don’t make the desired impact. Also, the film has lot of cinematic liberties which are convincing to an extent but after a point, it becomes too much. And lastly, the finale is very disappointing and unjustified and looks out of place in a film that is quite happy and positive.



However, there’s no denying that both Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush have performed exceptionally. Amitabh Bachchan as always delivers an impactful performance and plays the difficult role with ease. He compliments Dhanush very well and looks quite dashing in the shabby, disheveled look. As expected, R Balki once again extracts the best out of Big B! Dhanush however leaves an even bigger mark. He not only performs but also adjusts to Big B’s voice and it all comes out very well. Also, there are scenes when he expresses just through his eyes and expressions and he is just amazing. Akshara Haasan looks cute and gives a nice performance. Also, she holds on to her own in front of two big stars like Big B and Dhanush. Master Shubham Tukaram Param is terrific as the young Daanish. Ajay Jadhav (the guy in the graveyard) raises laughs at places. Asif Ali Beg (doctor) and Uday Tikekar (Akshara’s father) are quite good. Rajeev Ravindranathan (journalist; the Mutravisarjan guy in 3 Idiots) is decent. Sonamoni Jayant Gadekar (Daanish’s mother) is fine. The film has lots of special appearances and the ones who stand out are Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt, Rekha, Ekta Kapoor, Prahlad Kakar and Swanand Kirkire.

Ilaiyaraaja’s music is quite nice, though it hasn’t topped the chartbusters. Piddly is interesting but the best is Ishq E Fillum. Sha Sha Mi Mi is quite catchy. Background score is quite impressive as well. P C Sreeram’s cinematography is topnotch. Urvi Ashar and Shipra Rawal’s production designing is great and the idea of a house with a ‘Now Showing’ board is too good. R Balki comes up with a great story, although climax should have been different. Screenplay is effective but could have been a tighter at places and devoid of few cinematic liberties. Dialogues, like in any R Balki film, are sharp and witty. Direction is fine but it could have been better. Big B’s monlogues could have been shorter or better executed. Also, few things are left unexplained. Why does Akshara love and wear only black clothes? Why does she say that Daanish is a dangerous driver? R Balki has given gems in the past in the form of Cheeni Kum and Paa and Shamitabh surely nowhere near these films.

On the whole, Shamitabh rests on a unique and interesting premise and is laced with some outstanding performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush. But the film has lot of cinematic liberties and worse of all, the climax totally fails in making the desired impact. Just like in a symbiotic relationship that the film is apparently sourced from, there has to be a symbiotic relationship between the first and second half of a film as well! A bad second half in a film that has a great first half is not done. This one is only for die-hard fans of the principle actors!

My rating - ** ½ out of 5!

WILL BALKI-BACHCHAN MAGIC WORK ONCE AGAIN WITH SHAMITABH?

Director R Balki debuted with the film Cheeni Kum in 2007 which was loved for its superb writing especially. Paa, released in 2009, was equally great and viewers were stunned to see Amitabh Bachchan’s unrecognizable look. And now Balki is back with Shamitabh, which like his previous 2 films, also star Amitabh, along with Dhanush and Akshara Haasan. The promotions of the film started very late but have been great nevertheless. The audio trailer was an interesting idea but the content was quite weird! Then, instead of coming up with the trailer, they unveiled the song Piddly. It didn’t give out any idea about the film but made for an interesting watch. And then came the teaser! It was interesting and the theatrical trailer was even better. It raised hopes for the film but at the same time, it didn’t give out much about the premise. All 3 actors look great and it’ll be great to see especially the chemistry of Amitabh and Dhanush. Songs are quite novel (Sannata, Lifebuoy, Piddly of course, etc) and should pick up once viewers see the film.

The buzz for the film isn’t widespread but nevertheless, it will ensure the film starts on a good or average note at least. After that, it’s the content that will decide if it can sustain. It has no competition as such with the previous week releases underperforming or failing miserably. Balki has always given interesting, out of the box films and here’s hoping Shamitabh fulfills expectations!


WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE SHAMITABH AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Chandna Arora and Saloni Bhatia (BOMBAY TIMES; February 5, 2015)