On Day 2 of Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2026, R Balki had an interesting chat with celebrity anchor Gaurav Sharma, aka SharmaG, about his debut film Cheeni Kum (2007) at the ‘Food! Camera! Action!’ session in a bar in South Mumbai. The screening of the Amitabh Bachchan-Tabu starrer took place after the conversation. During the rapid-fire round, R Balki touched upon Dear Zindagi (2016), produced by him and directed by his wife, Gauri Shinde. It starred Alia Bhatt in the lead and Shah Rukh Khan in a supporting role.
Going by the title of the film, R Balki was asked, “Sweetest film you’ve seen?”. After a few seconds, he replied, “That would be Notting Hill (1999).” Then he was asked, “Sweetest actor apart from Mr Bachchan you’ve seen or worked with?” Again, he thought for a few seconds and then said, “That would be Shah Rukh.”
R Balki revealed, “I was supposed to shoot Shamitabh (2015) with Shah Rukh and Amit ji. Both were very excited, but due to certain reasons, that didn’t happen. However, I worked with them in the Everest ad. It was great fun.”
The filmmaker then revealed a fascinating trivia, “Gauri shot Dear Zindagi with him that I produced. Even there, he was very sweet. I met him on the sets of that film. He told me, ‘Look what your wife has made me do’. I asked, ‘What happened?’. He replied, ‘I never wear linen’. She asked him to wear crumpled clothes. He doesn’t like that fabric. I told him, ‘I can’t help you in this matter’ and I walked out! Nevertheless, he listened to her very sweetly. He’s very charming as well.”
R Balki continued, “Later, his wife Gauri told me, ‘I have never seen Shah Rukh look so cool’! Shah Rukh then gave a look to Gauri and was like ‘Okay’ (laughs).”
Cheeni Kum 2 in the offing?
Before the conversation on stage, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke with R Balki and asked him how he got the idea of the film and having Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. He said, “What always stood for me was sarcasm, his poker-faced remarks and way of speaking. Hence, I thought of doing a romantic film where he’s not mushy but sarcastic. He had not played chef and I gave him a look which he had not had.”
In times of sequels, can we expect a second part of Cheeni Kum. He smiled and explained, “A lot of people have told me to make Cheeni Kum 2. I just ask them, ‘What will they (the characters) do after this (after the way the first part ended)?’. There can't be Cheeni Kum without the 2 of them. Also, I don’t normally like revisiting a film ever.”
It’s been 3 years since the release of his last film, Ghoomer (2023). When asked if he was working on something, R Balki said, “Normally, I take 4 years (laughs). But something will happen this year for sure.”
More Pages: Dear Zindagi Box Office Collection , Dear Zindagi Movie Review
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