When R Balki Felt 'Embarrassed' While Narrating Cheeni Kum Script To Amitabh Bachchan

R Balki’s association with Amitabh Bachchan has been a long one. The director made his debut in feature films with Cheeni Kum starring Big B and Tabu in the lead roles. The filmmaker has deemed the megastar to be his favourite artist and makes sure to feature him in some role, no matter big or small, in all his films. During a press event earlier this year, the director recalled the first time he approached Bachchan with a film script. 

R Balki recalls getting ‘embarrassed’ while narrating Cheeni Kum to Amitabh Bachchan 

R Balki attended a masterclass session at the recent Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival in January 2024. The filmmaker recalled the time he made his directorial debut with Amitabh Bachchan starrer Cheeni Kum. He recalled the tense script session at the actor’s residence. 

The director said, “He never laughed at the script. He never enjoyed one joke in the script. And I’ll tell you why.” He added that Amitabh Bachchan kept a poke face while hearing the film’s script. Balki continued that it was his first time narrating a script as a film director and the actor only responded with ‘stone cold silence’. 

He then shared the reason behind the same and said, “You don’t look at Amitabh Bachchan when you’re narrating. You keep your eyes on the script, but it starts bothering you that nobody is laughing, there’s no reaction, has he gone to sleep? I looked up, and he had this absolutely cold expression. Then I suddenly realised why he was looking at me like that."

"I was reading the whole script to him in his voice. I was imitating him. To behave like Bachchan to Bachchan is the biggest embarrassment in the world.” Balki concluded that he finished the script reading session and rushed out of the house immediately. 

R Balki’s association with Amitabh Bachchan 

Amitabh Bachchan remains one of the favourites of filmmaker R Balki. The director makes sure to feature the veteran actor, even if it is a cameo role, in his movies. They have collaborated on iconic movies like Cheeni Kum, Paa, and Shamitabh. Besides that, the actor made a cameo appearance in movies Chup: The Revenge Story and his recent release, Ghoomer.