DROPPING NAMES

The initial reports of R Balki's upcoming film, Shamitabh which appeared in August, 2013, suggested that Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan would topline the film's cast. The director had then claimed that he was just collaborating with SRK on a commercial. Mirror has since learnt that King Khan was indeed on board to play the protagonist, then named Shahnawaaz. But the actor then dropped out of the project, reportedly over issues about screen time. "Balki did not want to change his script so he decided to cast another actor," reveals a source in the film's unit.

He then picked Tamil star Dhanush, who made his Bollywood debut with Aanand Rai's Raanjhanaa in 2013. With Dhanush entering the picture the original name of the protagonist was dropped. "Shahnawaaz became Danish Ahmed. One doesn't need to ponder too long on the reason: Danish is a name closer to Dhanush than Shahnawaaz," adds the source. He goes on to inform that Danish is a deaf- mute man with starry dreams. He seeks advice from Amitabh, an aging superstar, on how he can live out his seemingly impossible sapna. "Amitabh lends his voice to the struggling actor and together they create a superstar called Shamitabh which is a combination of their names and the essence of the film," informs the source.

Balki has been extremely tightlipped about the project. In fact, it was Big B who revealed the title on May 30 with a tweet which read: "#Shamitabh... The Title of my new film with R Balki." On June 21, he went on to reveal the film's look, tweeting,: "Shamitabh'in the day... It is quite an effort to live with that hair all day!!" The director had not objected to his actor letting his secrets out then. However, when Mirror contacted Balki on the name game, he refused to comment. The film which will launch Kamal Haasan and Sarika's younger daughter, Akshara, opposite Dhanush, opens on February 6.