‘Was difficult to accept failure of Shamitabh’

Filmmaker R. Balki says he was disappointed that his last Hindi directorial Shamitabh failed to elicit the expected response.

Shamitabh featured Amitabh Bachchan and Dhanush in key roles. An unusual drama ­—much like Balki’s past films Cheeni Kum and Paa —Shamitabh, however, didn’t do as well.

Asked what could have gone wrong with the film, said Balki: “I still don’t know what went right with Cheeni Kum and Paa. There is no formula as such. Surprisingly, many people have come up to me and said that they loved Shamitabh. But eventually it was a mixed reaction.”

Balki believes that “every filmmaker has an ego”. “So, it was difficult for me to accept why others didn’t like something which I liked so much. I was disappointed and it took a few months for me to overcome that phase. But after a few days I realised that I was wrong... I felt that this is not the right way.”