R Balki recalls his biggest screw-up that left Amitabh Bachchan cursing on camera: 'Felt I should stop the campaign'

R Balki recalled his biggest goof-up in an advertisement starring Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan.

Over the years, Amitabh Bachchan has been the face of countless brands and has featured in numerous advertisements. However, not every endorsement was smooth sailing. In a recent conversation with Cyrus Broacha on his podcast Cyrus Says, filmmaker R Balki recalled one such ad shoot where Big B couldn’t stop swearing, and the product ultimately turned out to be a flop.

R Balki recalls making an advertisement with Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan.

When Amitabh Bachchan swore on camera after seeing the product in advertisement

When asked about his difficult experiences at work, R Balki recounted making an advertisement for Maruti Suzuki featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. The company had introduced a new family van called the Versa, and this was the first project to cast the father–son duo together.

The filmmaker described the ad campaign for the Maruti Versa as a “huge f**k-up”. He revealed that they hadn’t been shown the actual vehicle and were instead given a picture of another van, with the assurance that the real car would look similar. Balki had roped in Amitabh and Abhishek for the shoot, but only saw the actual vehicle on the day of filming.

The shoot took place in Lonavala. Balki recalled, “I still remember the bungalow. The idea was that Amitabh Bachchan is sitting on the lawn reading the newspaper. Abhishek drives in and says, ‘Hey Dad, look at my new car.’ It was the stupidest thing we could have come up with. Rehearsals were going on, and he was there, and the car was coming in. I saw this small car coming in, with two vehicles in front of it and two behind, with this one in the centre. I was shi***ng bricks when I saw the car. This was not the car I was promised.”

He added that even Big B forgot his dialogue and couldn’t help but blurt out something negative about the car. “Abhishek struggled to get in, but he was understanding, because he knew some endorsements go like this. Now, Amitabh Bachchan had not seen the car. He had his back to it as Abhishek came in, and the shoot was happening. He says, ‘Pa, check out my new car.’ Amitabh turned, looked at the vehicle and said, ‘What is this piece of sh*t that you have got there?’ This is on camera. I felt I should stop the campaign,” the filmmaker said.

Balki recalled telling the company that the campaign was completely wrong, but they refused to listen and went ahead with the launch event the next day. While people enjoyed seeing Amitabh and Abhishek together in one car, nobody wanted to book the vehicle, and that’s when Balki realised he should have pulled the plug on the advertisement.

R Balki has worked with both Amitabh and Abhishek in films such as Cheeni Kum, Paa, Shamitabh and Ghoomer.

Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan’s upcoming films

Abhishek will next be seen in Siddharth Anand’s King. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, alongside Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, and Rani Mukerji, among others. The film is expected to release in April 2026.

Amitabh, on the other hand, has Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD sequel, which also stars Prabhas and Kamal Haasan in lead roles. The film is scheduled to go on floors in December this year.