R. Balki

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 (2007), Paa (2009), Pad Man (2018), Chup: Revenge of The Artist (2022), and Ghoomer (2023).

Career
Balki wrote and directed the 2007 comedy-drama film Cheeni Kum, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu, which marked his directorial debut. His second directorial was the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Paa, produced by Sunil Manchanda and Abhishek Bachchan which was released on 4 December 2009, starring Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan. The film received multiple nominations in addition to winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi the following year. In 2015, he directed the satirical drama Shamitabh which would mark his third collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan. The film also starred Tamil actor Dhanush and marked the acting debut Akshara Haasan, daughter of actor-director Kamal Haasan. In 2016, he directed the comedy-drama Ki and Ka which starred Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. In 2018, he directed the social comedy Pad Man starring Akshay Kumar and Radhika Apte. 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, in addition to serving as a creative director. His next directorial was the thriller Chup : Revenge Of The Artist, starring Sunny Deol, Dulquer Salmaan 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 Ghoomer starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher. It premiered at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Personal life
Balki was born on 16 April 1964 in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. Prior to his filmmaking career, he worked in advertising and served as the charmain of advertising agency Lowe Lintas. In 2016, he retired from advertising to focus on his filmmaking career.

Balki married filmmaker Gauri Shinde in 2007.

Awards and nominations
Paa received 14 nominations at the 16th Star Screen Awards of which the film won five awards. It also won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

For Pad Man, he won the award for Best Director at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in 2018. Padman also won the National Film Award for the Best Film on Social Issues.