Cheeni Kum cast quizzed about the film
Saturday,
May
26,
2007
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Paresh
Rawal
and
director
Balki
addressed
the
London
media
in
a
press
conference
about
their
film
Cheeni
Kum.
Was
Mr
Bachchan
the
first
choice
for
your
film?
Balki
-
Yes.
The
film
was
written
for
Mr.
Bachchan
because
he
is
the
kind
of
person
who
inspired
me
to
write
Cheeni
Kum.
Did
he
say
'yes'
to
it
straight
away
or
was
he
reluctant
to
romance
a
younger
woman
in
the
film?
Balki
-
If
you
see
the
film,
you
will
understand
that
it's
a
simple
love
story
and
age
is
incidental.
The
story
was
treated
pretty
casually
and
was
in
tone
with
what
the
perception
of
Mr.
Bachchan
is
-
sarcastic,
witty,
understated,
etc.
That's
the
personality
of
a
man.
How
did
you
manage
to
rope
in
Paresh
Rawal?
Balki
-
Cheeni
Kum
is
about
a
64
year
old
man
who
loves
a
34
year
old
woman
and
in
between
that
we
have
a
58
year
old
father
of
Tabu,
played
by
Paresh
Rawal.
So,
we
needed
someone
who
can
match
the
calibre
of
Mr.
Bachchan.
The
problem
came
while
casting
Paresh
(laughs).
Do
you
think
Cheeni
Kum
will
be
labelled
in
the
category
of
Nishabd
part
two?
Balki
-
No.
We
started
this
film
two
and
a
half
years
back
and
if
you
actually
see
Nishabd,
it
was
a
serious
film.
Cheeni
Kum
is
a
comedy.
The
only
similarity
between
the
two
is
that
an
older
man
falls
for
a
younger
woman.
Do
you
have
second
thoughts
that
people
will
accept
you
in
unconventional
films
like
this
one?
Amitabh
Bachchan
-
I
am
65
year
old
now.
So,
to
get
work
at
this
age
has
become
very
difficult.
I
would
like
to
thank
Mr
Balki
and
Sunil
Manchanda
for
finding
me
a
job,
which
I
can
do.
My
first
priority
was
that
I
was
getting
this
film
and
should
accept
it.
As
far
as
the
age
difference
is
concerned,
it
is
very
common
in
the
villages
of
India.
It's
not
a
crime.
If
the
two
consenting
adults
want
to
live
with
each
other
and
spend
their
life
together
then
I
see
no
reason
why
they
shouldn't
go
ahead
and
build
a
relationship.
What
is
it
like
to
be
working
with
two
great
actors
of
our
Hindi
cinema
-
Paresh
Rawal&Tabu?
Amitabh
Bachchan
-
It's
a
great
honour
to
work
with
both
of
them.
Paresh
is
undoubtedly
one
of
our
finest
artists
in
the
industry
and
the
same
with
Tabu,
she
is
an
exceptionally
good
actor
and
a
person.
If
you
would
look
at
their
record
of
work
you
will
find
the
diverse
roles
that
Paresh
Rawal
and
Tabu
have
done
over
several
films.
Each
film
is
distinctly
identified
with
the
kind
of
difference
they
bring
to
their
characters.
Next