How 'Bala' went from pollution in Ganga to a film about self-love

"Bala" was initially a critique on the industrial exploitation of the Ganga river with the protagonist sporting the iconic hairstyle of superstar Salman Khan from "Tere Naam" before he goes bald, reveals writer Niren Bhatt.

But he was in "two minds" about the plot idea and it was after he met director Amar Kaushik, that made the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer what it is today: about a person coming to terms with his looks.

With Ayushmann Khurrana as a young man struggling with receding hairline, Yami Gautam as a small-town TikTok star and Bhumi Pednekar as a girl fighting prejudices against dark skin, "Bala" opened to rave reviews and fantastic box office numbers last week.

Niren, whose credits include National Award-winning Marathi feature "Ventilator" and Rajkummar Rao's "Made in China", said he is overwhelmed with the response to "Bala".

"This is such a good high. My phone hasn't stopped ringing, people are writing to me. This is a wonderful feeling," he said.

The film's journey began when Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films was developing Pavel Bhattacharjee's original idea about a man in Banaras, who finds out that a company dumping waste in Ganga was responsible for his balding and decides to start a campaign against it.

"I wasn't too kicked about it (original idea) and was still in two minds. Then Amar came on board as a creative producer. When we sat together, he started telling me his experiences as he started losing hair in his early 20s."
"It became about the complex you feel when you step out, this lack of confidence which seeps in because of balding. I knew this is the story. It's a common problem. It's not a city-specific problem, it's a global thing."
"We thought, the film shouldn't only be about balding. Beneath this, it's about self image and loving oneself. From there we thought we will have two love stories, somewhere you'll feel he might go with Yami or Bhumi but finally the love story is with himself."