When Balanna went after that one saree!

One of the ace artistes of Sandalwood, Balakrishna endearingly called as Balanna left a legion of fans, 22 years ago. Despite challenged by his hearing impairment, Balanna could easily pull off any character with his sway. He has acted in over 500 films and that speaks for his passion for the art. On his death anniversary which was observed recently, senior screen writer CV Shankar shares a rather funny incident that involved Balanna, who was very close to him.

"Sandalwood was still growing at that time. Balanna along with acting was also keen on producing a movie. Despite financial crisis, there were no dearth of creative ideas in Balanna. Even in those struggling days, he ventured to make 'Kalitharu Henne' movie. He roped in Dr Rajkumar, Adavani Lakshmidevi, R Nagendra Rao and other artistes. I was also part of the movie. Balanna had stall the movie after completing it half due to various reasons."

But this did not deter the ever energetic Balanna who somehow managed to gather funds and begun the shooting of the movie again. But there was a small hiccup - the saree which senior artiste Adavani Lakshmidevi had worn earlier for the shoot was missing! But Balanna needed the same saree to ensure there was continuity in the shot. Balanna was worried as the whole crew could not find the saree and again the shooting came to a halt.

"One day, Balanna who was upset over the missing saree, was driving down a small street in Madras. I was also with him. Suddenly, Balanna screamed his driver to stop the car. Immediately, Balanna began screaming It's the same saree! The driver and I could not comprehend what Balanna was trying to say."

A woman who was working at a construction site had worn the similar saree that Adavani Lakshmidevi had worn for the shooting. Balanna wanted that saree at any cost, he asked the assistant Sunandu to bargain that saree with a new one. Sunandu approached that woman and in his broken Tamil he asked for the saree. Obviously, that woman admonished Sunandu for making such a demand. The contractor who heard the commotion, rushed to the spot. Sunandu went one step ahead and said "My owner sitting in that car needs this saree,!" This infuriated the contractor who spared no words in embarrassing Balanna. However, it was the driver who came to our rescue as he knew Tamil. The driver explained the contractor about the whole missing saree and the need for it. Later that woman happily agreed to exchange the saree with a new one as she was giving it to popular actor Adavani Lakshmidevi. The saree washed and ironed reached the sets next day much to Balanna's happiness.