R Balki’s surprise gift to Amitabh Bachchan – the full hardbound script of their next film — has fallen through.

Apparently the original plan was to announce the next Big B venture that would’ve starred the mega-actor with Sridevi at the Birthday celebrations at the Reliance Mediaworks in Film City on October 10.

But the script meant to showcase the Big B’s unbottled charisma, has fallen through. Balki is now working on a completely different script idea, and as he mysteriously announces, “It’s not a love story. It doesn’t address itself to a medical condition. But there will be lots of drama.”

The director has failed to meet his own deadline, because of his wife Gauri Shinde’s release.

Says Balki, “I’ve let myself and Amitji down, for no fault of anybody. The production work on my wife’s film English Vinglish was more time-consuming than I thought it would be. I thought I’d be able to complete the script for my next film with Mr Bachchan in time for his 70th birthday. But that is not happening. I had hoped to surprise him… at least I hoped the script would be a surprise and not a shock to Amitji, ha ha.”

Now Balki has given himself a year-end deadline to finish writing what sources close to Balki describe as “an even more challenging role for Mr Bachchan than Paa.”

Challenging, because there would be no prosthetics this time to support the performance.

Tightlipped to the core Balki finally reveals, “It’s a very dramatic role. But Amitji would have no ‘look’ in the film. In fact he won’t even wear makeup this time.”