R Balki reveals Cheeni Kum was shot on a borrowed equipment from Salman Khan’s film sets

Known for his films Paa, Ki & Ka, Cheeni Kum, and others, director R Balki most recently directed Ghoomer, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Sayami Kher, in 2023. Balki disclosed that Salman Khan’s film sets were used to borrow equipment for the filming of Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu’s Cheeni Kum. The director disclosed that he lacked the funds to purchase it.

In a recent interview with MIT World Peace University, R Balki discussed how Cheeni Kum was a low-budget movie and, he was ignorant about the film industry’s economics. Balki recalled realizing that it was tough to fund his 2007 directorial. The filmmaker had to borrow a jib from the sets of Salaam-E-Ishq which was made on a budget of Rs 60-70 crore.

“We didn’t have money to hire a jib. They were shooting Salaam-e-Ishq in Trafalgar Square and when it was a break there, the jib used to be transported to the Cheeni Kum set without even a focus puller. We had just one camera,” the director stated.

R Balki emphasized how the financial circumstances on his film sets were negatively impacted by the presence of megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Balki recalled how Big’s aura went unnoticed by the London studio they worked with. The senior actor, according to the director, was a Rs 500 crore star, but the studio didn’t see that.

The director of Cheeni Kum also recalled working with Sunil Manchanda to produce the film, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu. He claimed that when Manchanda presented both films to the company, Cheeni Kum and Salaam-E-Ishq were shot concurrently in London. He felt like a “discount offer” during the transaction, Balki continued.

Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Akshaye Khanna, Ayesha Takia, Anil Kapoor, and Juhi Chawla were among the ensemble stars in Salaam-E-Ishq: A Tribute To Love. In addition to Vidya Balan, John Abraham, Govinda, Shannon Esra, Sohail Khan, and Isha Koppikar, the love drama was directed by Nikkhil Advani.