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| Bio | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | R. Balakrishnan |
| Nickname | Not Known |
| Profession | Filmmaker, Screenwriter |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (Approx.) | in centimeters- 178 cm in meters- 1.78 m in Feet Inches- 5ā 10ā |
| Weight (Approx.) | in Kilograms- 80 kg in Pounds- 176 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Salt & Pepper |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 16 April 1964 (Thursday) |
| Age (as of 2025) | 61 Years |
| Birth Place | Bengaluru, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Aries |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Bengaluru, India |
| School | Not Known |
| College | Not Known |
| Educational Qualification | Graduate (was expelled from a Masters in Computer Application (MCA) course owing to poor attendance) |
| Debut | Direction: Cheeni Kum (2007)  |
| Family | Father- Name Not Known (Worked in the housing department of LIC; now practises Law) Mother- Name Not Known Brother- Not Known Sister- Not Known |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Ethnicity | Tamil |
| Hobbies | Watching Cricket and Movies |
| Controversies | Not Known |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Director | Ramesh Sippy, Manmohan Desai, SS Rajamouli , Balu Mahendra, Mani Ratnam |
| Favourite Music Composer | Ilaiyaraaja |
| Favourite Films | Bollywood: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Neerja |
| Favourite Actors | Amitabh Bachchan , Shah Rukh Khan |
| Favourite Sport | Cricket |
| Girls, Affairs and More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Gauri Shinde |
| Wife/Spouse | Gauri Shinde (Filmmaker)  |
| Marriage Date | Year- 2007 |
| Children | Son- None Daughter- None |
Does R. Balki smoke:Ā Yes
Does R. Balki drink alcohol: Yes
Balkiās father was a film fanatic and often took his son along to cinema halls during their younger years. However, it was not until he saw the Tamil film āMoondram Piraiā (1982) that he decided to become a filmmaker in the future.
At the time, Balki was putting up in Bangalore and was keen on joining a reputed film institute. Since the Madras Film Institute was the closest to his location, he decided to give it a try. The aspiring director, however, could not clear the interview and ended up opting for a course in MCA in a college that was directly opposite to the Film Institute.
Owing to his profound interests in Cricket and Movies, Balki always fell short of the required attendance in class. Since he was a regular attendance defaulter, he was expelled from the college in the final year.
One fine day, he saw an advertisement in the newspaper asking the applicant to describe himself/herself in 100 words. The advertisement was posted by none other than Ramesh Sippy headed ad agency- Mudra. Without any second thought, Balki applied for the job and was eventually selected.
Balki is the mind behind popular TV ad tag lines like āDaag Ache Haiā (Surf Excel), Jaago Re (Tata Tea), and Walk & Talk (Idea).
In no time, Balki climbed the ladder of success. He is the former Group Chairman of the advertising agency-Lowe Lintas.
He soon made a transition into the feature film industry as a director with the Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu starrerĀ Cheeni Kum (2007). The movie proved to be a huge success at the box-office.
As of June 2017, Balki has directed 4 commercial movies. Interestingly, all 4 films star his favourite actor Amitabh Bachchan in either the lead role or a guest appearance.
His wife, Gauri Shinde, has also made a transition from the ad-film industry just like him.Ā Although she has directed only two movies viz. English Vinglish (2012) and Dear Zindagi (2016), both of them have emerged as decent successes at the box-office.
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As of June 2017, Balki has directed four commercial movies, and all of them star Amitabh Bachchan in either the lead role or a guest appearance.
He was expelled from the MCA program for poor attendance.
He became a leading figure in advertising, serving as Group Chairman of Lowe Lintas.
His father, a film enthusiast who took him to cinemas, inspired him after the Moondram Pirai viewing to pursue filmmaking.
He created those iconic tag lines for Surf Excel, Tata Tea, and Idea.