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Director Balki really thinks big, at least when it comes to casting.

After making a casting coup of sorts in both his films so far — his Cheeni Kum had Amitabh Bachchan paired opposite a powerhouse performer like Tabu while Paa had not only had Big B but Bachchan Junior and Vidya Balan as well — the ad man-turned-filmmaker is now aiming even higher.

R Balki is lending finishing touches to a romance he's scripting with Amitabh Bachchan in mind. For the female lead, it seems the director has his heart set on Academy Award winning actress Meryl Streep! Says a source, "Balki is working on two scripts. One of them is a cross-cultural love story. The other is a romance about two people past the supposedly permissible age of romance."

Meryl Streep has been nominated for the Academy Awards a record 16 times, and has won twice. The actress is widely considered as the finest actress of her generation.

The other option that Balki has, in case Streep declines the offer is Sridevi. "The director would opt for Sridevi if Meryl doesn't work out," added our source. Sridevi, who hasn't appeared on the big screen post Judaai in 1997, earlier declined an offer to play Dhanush's mother-in-law in the remake of Rajinikanth's Mappillai.