PadMan director R Balki says that one can't have an ego while making films

Mumbai: Director R Balki, who has made films with top stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Akshay Kumar, says filmmaking should be an ego-less process.

He says both the director and actorshould be open to accept and reject each other's suggestion.

"In filmmaking, you can't have ego, everyone is a labourer. Suggestions can come from anywhere. You take if need be or don't - regardless of who is giving. If you have that simple healthy communication with them, why will stars have an issue?"

The general perception is that it is difficult to handle stars as they come with their own whims but the director begs to differ.

"I look at stars as creative



people. Of course, I know the value of Akshay Kumar, he draws in 90 per cent of the audience. That means he has the ability. Where people might have issues is when they say 'he is behaving like a star, not understanding my script'.

"I believe stars are as good if not better creative people as you are. They understand your script, their stardom and box office as well as you do. It's your job to not lose out on anything that they're trying to say. It's also your job to tell them 'hey this won't work'."

Balki has teamed up with Akshay for the first time for a film, which is a fictionalised account of Tamil Nadu-based Arunachalam Muruganantham, who created affordable sanitary napkins for the women of his village.