Director R. Balki is known to work with rather unconventional pairings on screen. He surprised us when he cast Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu as a couple in Cheeni Kum and once again with Vidya Balan and Abhishek Bachchan in Paa. Balki has done it again in Ki & Ka where he has for the first time introduced the on screen combination of Kareena Kapoor Khan and Arjun Kapoor.
However, this time it all happened by accident. Turns out, on one occasion Arjun and Kareena were stepping out of the airport when they were snapped by the paparazzi. Balki happened to see the photo and for reasons best known to him, he was sure he wanted to cast them together in his next film.
Talking about it, Arjun says, “On our way back from an event Kareena and I were photographed walking out of the airport. Balki sir saw that picture and decided to cast us together. Soon after he met me and offered me the film.” He adds, “Kareena actually, in between the narration, texted me saying that she would be doing the film.”
That Arjun and Kareena have known each other for long worked in favour of the film. The actor says, “Kareena is a friend, so we are really comfortable around each other. Else, it would have taken a long time to build the kind of bond that we want to show in the film. So I was happy that Balki Sir cast us.” Arjun also said yes to the film because it is not a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy. “I wanted to do a romantic film but not the clichéd type. Usually boys want to grow up to be like their father, but what if a boy wants to be like his mother — that is the core of the film. Balki sir shared the idea with me and I was very keen. A month later he came to me with the script and I was on board. And Kareena stepped in soon after.”
