Balki idolises Manmohan Desai

Filmmaker R. Balakrishnan aka Balki, who stands out in Bollywood for his originality and ability to tell complex tales with a rare simplicity, says he finds the works of late filmmaker Manmohan Desai inspiring.

"As a director, I think Manmohan Desai did the best films. He was a genius! Whatever he did, nobody can do it today. All his films were so original ... I would love to be (like) Manmohan Desai," said Balki, whose "Shamitabh" released last, said.

Desai is best remembered for movies like "Bluff Master (1963)", "Coolie", "Naseeb" and "Amar Akbar Anthony", and he worked a lot with Amitabh Bachchan.

Balki too has worked with Big B in three of his films -- "Cheeni Kum", "Paa" and now "Shamitabh". He says the megastar is only "getting younger everyday".

"How much he has earned in this industry ... at 72, he has so much power. Time moves on, but the power of Amitabh Bachchan will never go," he said.