R. Balakrishnan, popularly known as R. Balki, (born 16 April 1964) is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter and former Group Chairman of the advertising agency Lowe Lintas (India). He is best known for directing the films ''

Cheeni Kum ''Cheeni Kum'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by R. Balki starring Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Zohra Sehgal, and Swini Khara. ''Cheeni Kum'' premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2007 ...

'' (2007), '' Paa'' (2009), '' Pad Man'' (2018), '' Chup: Revenge of The Artist'' (2022), and ''

Ghoomer ''Ghoomer'' () is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by R. Balki. It stars Shabana Azmi, Abhishek Bachchan, Saiyami Kher, and Angad Bedi. The film had its world premiere as the opening film at the 12th Indian ...

'' (2023).

Career

Balki wrote and directed the 2007 comedy-drama film ''

'', starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

and Tabu, which marked his directorial debut. His second directorial was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful '' Paa'', produced by

Sunil Manchanda Sunil Manchanda is an Indian film director, and producer, and an advertisement producer. Career His 2003 film Tere Naam won four awards. Manchanda also produced '' Cheeni Kum'' in 2007, which won one award and was nominated for four others. On ...

and

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

which was released on 4 December 2009, starring

, his son Abhishek Bachchan and

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

. The film received multiple nominations in addition to winning the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kama ...

the following year. In 2015, he directed the satirical drama '' Shamitabh'' which would mark his third collaboration with

. The film also starred Tamil actor

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...

and marked the acting debut

Akshara Haasan Akshara Haasan (born 12 October 1991) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil language, Tamil and Hindi-language films. The daughter of actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika Thakur, and the younger sister of Shruti Haasan, she made her film de ...

, daughter of actor-director

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

. In 2016, he directed the comedy-drama '' Ki and Ka'' which starred

Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress. A prolific leading lady of Hindi cinema since 2000, she is noted for her roles in a range of film genres—from romantic comedies to crime dramas. Kapoor is the recipient ...

and

Arjun Kapoor Arjun Kapoor (born 26 June 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. Born to the Surinder Kapoor family, he is the son of film producers Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie. Kapoor made his acting debut in 2012 with the drama '' Ishaqzaade ...

. In 2018, he directed the social comedy ''Pad Man'' starring

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

and

Radhika Apte Radhika Apte () (born 7 September 1985) is an Indian film and television actress. She began acting in theatre and made her film debut with a brief role in the fantasy drama ''Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!'' (2005). Her first lead role was in the 2009 ...

. The film was based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, which he co-produced, scripted and directed. In 2019, he co-produced and scripted the 2019 film ''

Mission Mangal ''Mission Mangal'' () is a 2019 Indian drama film directed by Jagan Shakti and produced by Cape of Good Films, Hope Productions, Fox Star Studios, Aruna Bhatia and Anil Naidu. Loosely based on the life of scientists at the Indian Space Research ...

'', in addition to serving as a creative director. His next directorial was the thriller ''Chup : Revenge Of The Artist'', starring

Dulquer Salmaan Dulquer Salmaan (; born 28 July 1983) is an Indian actor, singer and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest paid Malayalam actors, Salmaan is a recipient of several awards including five Film ...

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...

and Shreya Dhanwanthary in lead roles. The film revolved around a serial killer who targets film critics. In 2023, he wrote and directed and the sports drama ''

'' starring

and

Saiyami Kher Saiyami Kher is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Telugu films. Kher made her acting debut with the Telugu film '' Rey'' (2015) and her Hindi debut with '' Mirzya'' (2016), for which she received Stardust Award for Superstar o ...

. It premiered at the

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is an annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2010. It was previously funded by Victoria State Government. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. ...

Personal life

Balki was born on 16 April 1964 in

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum), or Kudanthai, is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the hea ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Prior to his filmmaking career, he worked in advertising and served as the chairman of advertising agency Lowe Lintas. In 2016, he retired from advertising to focus on his filmmaking career. Balki married filmmaker Gauri Shinde in 2007.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

'' Paa'' received 14 nominations at the 16th Star

Screen Awards The Screen Awards was an annual awards ceremony held in India, honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection was done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced ...

of which the film won five awards. It also won

. For '' Pad Man'', he won the award for Best Director at the

in 2018. ''Padman'' also won the National Film Award for the Best Film on Social Issues.

References

External links

*
''Paa'' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balki, R. 1965 births Living people Film directors from Tamil Nadu Hindi-language film directors Indian advertising directors Indian male screenwriters 21st-century Indian screenwriters Directors who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award People from Thanjavur district