R. Balki revealed that he has always been inspired by Amitabh Bachchan. He justifies his decision to sign Big B as the lead for every film.

"When you make a film, if you don't think of the greatest actor in the country for it, who else will you think about?," he throws the rhetorical question to prove his point.

Later he reveals that 'Shamitabh' was actually presented to him as his birthday gift.

"All my films have happened because of Amitabh Bachchan. Like in the case of Shamitabh, I was going to his house on his 69th birthday, and I didn't have a gift for him as I didn't know what to gift him. I was stuck in a jam for two hours, and I thought that all I can give him is an idea, which he might not have at this point in time, and I whispered it in his ear," he smiles as he recollects the incident.

He further adds that his personality inspires him to do something always. "When you work with an actor of such calibre, you need to do justice to his talent. So, whenever I approach him with a story, the attempt is do something that hasn’t been done before," he stated.

However, he also added that as a filmmaker too he is obliged to bring something new to the table everytime."There has to be novelty to what we are doing. I feel, as a director, I need to give a new reason to the audience to come and see my film every time," he concludes.