Cheeni Kum-when less is more!

When Amitabh Bachchan agrees to star in your debut directorial venture, and the film goes on to become a hit, there is no doubt that fame would come calling.

That is what happened to adman-turned director Balki of Cheeni Kum fame in the city recently.

Born and raised in Bangalore, Tamilian Balki who has been in Mumbai for the last ten years, is the power behind a number of Lintas commercials.

But it was a huge jump from copywriting to directing (and writing the story too) and Balki is sitting pretty, having delivered a hit film. Excerpts from an interview with him.

How did you get Amitabh to sign up for your first film at a time when he was very busy?

As soon as he heard my storyline, he told me to go ahead and write it, and I fine-tuned it over two and a half years time.

Were you not worried that your story of an old man falling in love with a younger woman was similar to that of Nishabd?

I was confident that Amitabh would not sign up two similar stories. I had faith in his ability to choose scripts.

You seem to have got fabulous performances from both Big B and Tabu.

I wrote the story keeping the two of them in mind and it was not the other way round where you write a story and look for actors to fit. The words came naturally.

Did you make the movie for a multiplex crowd?

No, I did not get into a rural, multiplex mindset. I wanted to make the kind of film on this 64- year-old man falling in love with a 34-year-old woman and both of them wanting to get married. It seems everyone else liked the idea too.

What next?

Am working on another Hindi script, and after that I would like to make a Tamil film