‘Cheeni Kum’: An adman’s take on Hindi cinema

With one day to go for the Indian premiere of R Balakrishnan’s romantic comedy, ‘Cheeni Kum’, it may interest some to know that this ‘sugar-free love story’ has the brand Sugar Free embedded in it

R Balakrishnan’s first directorial venture is, in his own words, “hardly a path-breaking one”. The adman (Lowe’s NCD at present), who has spent all his working life ideating for brands, took to his first passion – Hindi films – sometime last year when he decided to wear the director’s cap.

Balki (as he is called) penned the screenplay for a “typical Bollywood masala movie”, the love story of a 64 year old man (Amitabh Bachchan, playing the role of a chef) and a 34 year old unmarried woman (Tabu). Problems crop up when the girl’s father (Paresh Rawal) learns of the duo’s affair. Keeping in mind the comedy quotient in the film, it has been given a name as abstract as it comes – ‘Cheeni Kum’, with a slug to match (‘A Sugarfree Romance’).

Commenting on the title, Balki shrugs, “It doesn’t involve a lot of science to guess that the movie is low on mush and high on humour. So we gave it a name that matches the movie’s tempo – that of being a ‘mush-less’ love story.” But hasn’t the storyline of an old man and a young woman already been experimented with in the recent past, particularly in Bachchan’s own ‘Nishabd’?

‘Cheeni Kum’: An adman’s take on Hindi cinema

Balki says, “‘Cheeni Kum’ is a light hearted comedy, while ‘Nishabd’ was an out-and-out serious film. I’ll say ‘Cheeni Kum’ is like ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge’, but with a quirkier twist.” For those who don’t know it, yes, the film does have a ‘happily ever after’ ending.

Balki isn’t the only adman to have been involved in ‘Cheeni Kum’; Lowe’s Mumbai-based creative director, Manoj Tapadia, has co-written the lyrics along with lyricist Sameer, and co-written the dialogues along with Balki.

“Oh, Manoj helped me a lot with the grammar,” quips the director. Tapadia himself is quite candid when he says, “Balki hates heavy words and metaphors. He simply told me to do the Anand Bakshi kind of lyrics.” Tapadia’s copywriting skills also came in handy while crafting the songs (four in all) for the movie. “Copywriting has taught me to be wise with words, conveying the message in the fastest possible way,” he says.

The duo, who wanted to work for films before settling for advertising, agree that directing a feature film isn’t all that different from an ad film, save for the fact that the former involves a lot more time. On an average, if an ad film takes three or four months from conception to execution, a film generally takes at least a year to wrap up. “A feature film is also about ideas, except that it is a two-hour expression instead of a 30-second one,” says Balki. However, he concedes that feature filmmaking requires much more patience, as one has to constantly revisit the feelings with which the shot was first written, while doing retakes even months afterward, in order to keep the freshness alive.

Needless to say, when an adman takes to the silver screen, there is bound to be embedded advertising. Sugar Free is one such brand, which, for obvious reasons, has been placed inside the movie. One shot has Tabu and Bachchan in conversation, while Tabu prepares coffee for him. Prominent packs have been placed in the background in that shot. Furthermore, the brand is mentioned as a part of the script.

Secondly, keeping in mind that Bachchan plays a chef, Catch spices have been given a prominent branding opportunity in the film (in the kitchen, the camera follows the branded bottle as the protagonist prepares a meal). Thirdly, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has launched a co-branded TVC in association with the film, although there is no in-film mention of the brand. The TVC has a shot from the film of Bachchan and Tabu sitting together at a café. When Bachchan accidentally bends over to recover something that has fallen, it looks almost as though he is touching her feet. Tabu gives him her mock blessings, saying “Jeete Raho”. To this, Bachchan comically quizzes whether she is an insurance agent, as they are the only ones that wish for anyone’s long life.

“Tabu and Bachchan are both seasoned actors, most of the shots were approved in the first or second take itself,” says Balki.

The film had its world premiere at the 60th Cannes Film Festival recently, and will be released in Indian cinema halls on May 25, 2007.

R Balakrishnan

Balki’s maiden attempt at direction also has other members from the Indian ad fraternity: Sunil Manchanda and Anita Anand of MAD Entertainment (a production house that has directed several ad films so far), PC Shriram (cameraman, who has also worked for ad films), Ashwin Naidu (assistant to ad filmmakers, who has also assisted Balki in this venture), and Manisha Khandelwal (assistant art director in the film, who has worked in agencies such as Contract and Lowe).

Balki and his team hope they have handled the tricky tale in a mature fashion. Now, it’s up to viewers to swallow this ‘sugar-free’ recipe.

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