‘If he knows you…’: R Balki recalls time when Amitabh Bachchan was firing everyone on Shamitabh sets

Cheeni Kum, Paa, Shamitabh, and Pad Man. Do you know what’s common between these feature films directed by R Balki? Well, it’s the fact that in all of them, Bollywood’s legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan has appeared, either as a lead or in a cameo role. Both Balki and senior Bachchan share a special bond. On Big B’s 81^st birthday, the director spilled some unknown secrets about him.

R Balki says Amitabh Bachchan is very particular about scripts

In an interview with ETimes, R Balki spoke about his experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan in his movies. During the candid chat, the director was asked if there are any unknown facts about the veteran actor. Spilling some secrets, Balki said, “I’ve just been lucky that whenever I’ve approached him with a request of doing a role, he has so far, always said okay. But he’s always seeking and subjecting me to a lot of things and discussions. He will do something only if he likes the role. He’s very particular about what is written in the script for him. Of course, he does a million favors for everyone in the industry, but for me, he is The Amitabh Bachchan and there can’t be any other creation like him.”

The Ghoomer director further added, “While he’s extremely kind to most people and warm, he’s also absolutely frank. He is more frank with people he likes. If he knows you a little better and he likes you a little better, he can even fire you and we all love it. It feels so lovely when Amitabh Bachchan is firing you.”

R Balki recalls the time when Amitabh Bachchan was firing everyone on Shamitabh’s sets

Recalling the time when Amitabh Bachchan was firing people on the sets of Shamitabh, Balki said, “Once he was firing everyone on the sets of ‘Shamitabh’ and I asked him, ‘why are you shouting?’ He just turned around and said, “I’m in character.” (Laughs). But the beauty of our actor-director relationship is that we are both frank with each other. He doesn’t mince his words. He doesn’t hesitate to tell me if he doesn’t like something and even though I’m one of his biggest fans, if I hesitate to tell him something, then I’m undermining the star he is and won’t be able to do justice to him in the film. It’s a great space to be in wherein, you can tell something to a person and you know they won’t misunderstand you for anything other than what that is,” the director divulged.

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