‘Amitabh Bachchan is eternally aspirational’: Filmmaker R Balki

From his early days, he has established his heroic persona — with the way he styled himself, his walk and his baritone. What I find mesmerising is his ability to deliver his lines with a poker-face and yet managing to blow your mind off each time. He delivers dialogues the way no one can, expressing himself in a thousand different ways without breaking into a sweat. Most importantly, he can convey so much without trying too hard to emote. He comes to the sets, faces the camera and knocks it off the park. That’s the power he has.

Even today, his movies don’t appear dated in spite of him wearing bell-bottoms and acting on sets that look old-fashioned. That’s because his performances have always been cool and modern. What has stood out every time is his distinct personality, understated acting and sarcasm. The way he performs is measured yet powerful; the way he speaks is never too dramatic. It is his personality that fascinated all. Men wanted to be like him, women desired men like him. He became the quintessential man.

A still from ‘Cheeni Kum’

Like many others, I have been his fan from my childhood. I can’t write a movie script without imagining Amitji to be part of it in some way. My directorial debut Cheeni Kum (2007) was not the story of an elderly man falling in love with a younger woman, it was about Amitji falling in love with Tabu on screen. Had they said no, I wouldn’t have made that movie. There are certain traits of Amitji that I love very much. I try to incorporate those in my films. I wanted to see him as a child. Paa (2009), in which he plays the role of a 12-year-old suffering from a rare genetic disorder called progeria, tries to explore that. In Cheeni Kum, I wanted to showcase his sarcasm and wit. Shamitabh (2015) tries to capture his dramatic persona. Even in his cameos, I try to bring in a bit of the Bachchan that I love.

As a star, he is eternally aspirational. There is a reason why the audience goes to watch a star on the big screen. You don’t want a star dissolving into a character. So, it’s Bachchan’s persona that captivates me when he appears on screen. He has always been this way. Instead of judging what has been his outstanding performances, I would rather pick the movies that have captured the persona of Bachchan, such as Naseeb (1981). Of course, I love most of his movies like Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Trishul (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), Satte Pe Satta (1982), and Namak Halaal (1982). There is a particular scene in Dostana (1980) where he is teasing Zeenat Aman at a helipad — he is so cool and clearly having fun in that moment, it has stayed with me.

Over the years, movie-making has evolved. But he has not changed much. But then he is not a person who needs to evolve. Even in his debut movie Saat Hindustani (1969), you will catch glimpses of the same Bachchan that burst into the world of cinema in the ’70s. The industry pundits take time to notice someone till that person proves his commercial orth but he always exuded star power.

I can’t dream of a bigger star to write for. Every project of mine, barring Padman (2018), I have discussed with Amitji. There is a certain meter in my writing that I call “the Amitabh Bachchan meter”. I share my ideas with him and he politely offers his suggestions. What he says will always have logic. Paa was initially written as a comedy. He asked me if the story could be bigger and more emotional. I tore up the first script and started writing with a fresh perspective. In 20 days, we had Paa.

(As told to Alaka Sahani)