R. Balki
Encyclopedia
R. Balakrishnan, better known as R. Balki, is Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the advertising agency Lowe Lintas
(India), an ad filmmaker and Hindi film director. He is best known for Cheeni Kum
(2007) and Paa
(2009).
He saw an ad in the papers for Mudra and he remembered seeing it after Buniyaad. The ad asked people to send in 100 words describing who they were. His idol was Ramesh Sippy when he started his career; he wished to emulate him in advertising and got to meet Sippy only much later.
Balki's ideas have included Daag Achche Hain for Surf Excel, Jaago re ads for Tata Tea and the "walk when you talk" Idea Cellular advertising campaign. He has written and directed Cheeni Kum
(2007), which starred Amitabh Bachchan
and Tabu
. His second feature film was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Paa
, (produced by Sunil Manchanda
), released on 4 December 2009, starring Amitabh Bachchan
, Abhishek Bachchan
, and Vidya Balan
. Paa is based on the life of a 13-year-old child named Auro (Amitabh Bachchan's character) suffering from a deadly disease known as Progeria
. Abhishek Bachchan
, who is the son of Amitabh Bachchan
in real life, acted as his father in this movie.
Another of Balki's dreams is to play cricket, even if it is for one match. Ilaiyaraaja
, the noted Indian composer, is his favourite composer. Balki once commented, "My biggest inspiration has been Ilaiyaraaja
's music; it was his music that got me interested in cinema in the first place."
received 14 nominations at the 16th Star Screen Awards and won five awards at the Screen Awards.
Lowe Lintas
Lowe Lintas is one of India's best known communication groups. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Interpublic Group , and is part of the Lowe Worldwide network...
(India), an ad filmmaker and Hindi film director. He is best known for Cheeni Kum
Cheeni Kum
Cheeni Kum is an 2007 Bollywood romance film directed by R. Balki, starring Amitabh Bachchan as an 64 year-old man, opposite Tabu, who plays an 34-year old who falls in love with Bachchan. Produced by Sunil Manchanda, the film releasd on 25 May 2007.-Plot:Cheeni Kum focuses on Buddhadev Gupta...
(2007) and Paa
Paa (film)
Paa is a 2009 Indian film directed by R. Balakrishnan starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan. The film is based on a rare genetic condition known as progeria and places emphasis on a father-son relationship...
(2009).
Career
He started his career with Mudra at the age of 23. His main passion had always been film making; after college, he even applied to the Madras Film Institute to do a course in direction. However, he did not like the panel that interviewed him, so he walked out. After this, he got into the Masters in Computer Application (MCA) course in a college directly opposite the film institute. He always liked computers, so he thought that he could do well in this course. After studying there for three years, he was thrown out in the last year because of lack of attendance. According to him, this was mainly because he played a lot of cricket and watched a lot of movies.He saw an ad in the papers for Mudra and he remembered seeing it after Buniyaad. The ad asked people to send in 100 words describing who they were. His idol was Ramesh Sippy when he started his career; he wished to emulate him in advertising and got to meet Sippy only much later.
Balki's ideas have included Daag Achche Hain for Surf Excel, Jaago re ads for Tata Tea and the "walk when you talk" Idea Cellular advertising campaign. He has written and directed Cheeni Kum
Cheeni Kum
Cheeni Kum is an 2007 Bollywood romance film directed by R. Balki, starring Amitabh Bachchan as an 64 year-old man, opposite Tabu, who plays an 34-year old who falls in love with Bachchan. Produced by Sunil Manchanda, the film releasd on 25 May 2007.-Plot:Cheeni Kum focuses on Buddhadev Gupta...
(2007), which starred Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
and Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
. His second feature film was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Paa
Paa (film)
Paa is a 2009 Indian film directed by R. Balakrishnan starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan. The film is based on a rare genetic condition known as progeria and places emphasis on a father-son relationship...
, (produced by Sunil Manchanda
Sunil Manchanda
Sunil Manchanda is an Indian film director, film producer, and advertisement producer.His most recently developed movie is Paa.-Career:On December 4, 2009, Paa was released in 34 countries worldwide. It was originally supposed to be produced by Manchanda and Director R Balakrishnan, but was instead...
), released on 4 December 2009, starring Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
, Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
, and Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films....
. Paa is based on the life of a 13-year-old child named Auro (Amitabh Bachchan's character) suffering from a deadly disease known as Progeria
Progeria
Progeria is an extremely rare genetic condition wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age. The word progeria comes from the Greek words "pro" , meaning "before", and "géras" , meaning "old age"...
. Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
, who is the son of Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
in real life, acted as his father in this movie.
Another of Balki's dreams is to play cricket, even if it is for one match. Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
, the noted Indian composer, is his favourite composer. Balki once commented, "My biggest inspiration has been Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
's music; it was his music that got me interested in cinema in the first place."
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role(s) | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 2007 in film This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007... |
Cheeni Kum Cheeni Kum Cheeni Kum is an 2007 Bollywood romance film directed by R. Balki, starring Amitabh Bachchan as an 64 year-old man, opposite Tabu, who plays an 34-year old who falls in love with Bachchan. Produced by Sunil Manchanda, the film releasd on 25 May 2007.-Plot:Cheeni Kum focuses on Buddhadev Gupta... |
Director, screenplay | Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades... , Tabu Tabu (actress) Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film... , Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal is an Indian actor of Gujarati background.Making his film debut in 1984, he mainly played supporting and villain roles throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Since 2000 he has mostly played comic roles.- Family and early life :... |
| 2009 2009 in film The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note... |
Paa Paa (film) Paa is a 2009 Indian film directed by R. Balakrishnan starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan. The film is based on a rare genetic condition known as progeria and places emphasis on a father-son relationship... |
Director, writer | Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades... , Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai.... , Vidya Balan Vidya Balan Vidya Balan is an Indian actress, who appears in Hindi films. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she started her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before appearing in feature films.... |
| 2012 2012 in film The following tables list films that are in production or have completed production and will be released in the United States and Canada at some point in 2012... |
Hinglish Vinglish | Producer, writer | Sridevi |
Awards and nominations
PaaPaa (film)
Paa is a 2009 Indian film directed by R. Balakrishnan starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan. The film is based on a rare genetic condition known as progeria and places emphasis on a father-son relationship...
received 14 nominations at the 16th Star Screen Awards and won five awards at the Screen Awards.