Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice for Shamitabh, R Balki reveals why it didn’t happen: ‘We discussed it for many months…’

He also showered praise on Dhanush, stating that not only is he a great actor, but is also a proficient filmmaker. “He has written many scripts; however, these have remained uncredited to him on-screen. He has also discreetly directed a few films, which I am aware of. His official directorial debut was Pa Paandi (2017), which was a completely commercial film and was beautifully done. He is a fantastic filmmaker. Therefore, when I collaborated with Dhanush, it wasn’t merely an actor-director dynamic, but rather a partnership between two people, well-versed in the language of cinema.”

“And Danush is a master actor because I defy anybody to have Amitabh Bachchan’s voice and not behave like him. It’s damn difficult,” he observed.

Jointly bankrolled by Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, RK Damani, Gauri Shinde and Abhishek Bachchan, several legendary technicians worked on Shamitabh, including Ilaiyaraaja (music), PC Sreeram (cinematography) and Hemanti Sarkar (editor).

Following the release of the movie, Abhishek said that Shamitabh failed at the box office as the team went wrong with its budgeting. “I think we got the budgeting wrong… I think the budget was wrong. We made it (budget) too expensive. If it could have been made in a controlled budget, it could have done better,” Abhishek told PTI in a 2015 interview.