RJ Balaji exclusive interview: 'I hope to work with Thalapathy Vijay soon'

RJ Balaji opens up about his upcoming release Singapore Saloon, Annapoorani controversy and more. He also speaks about wanting to work with Thalapathy Vijay.

On January 25, actor, writer and director RJ Balaji’s new film Singapore Saloon will release in theatres and he is quite excited. Reportedly made on a budget of ₹20 crore, the movie, directed by Gokul, sees him play a hairstylist, who aims to make it big. The Mookuthi Amman writer-director is known for his comedy, but in recent years he has moved into other genres like thrillers and family dramas. This film too will see a different side of him, he says, as he gets talking to Hindustan Times about Singapore Saloon, Thalapathy Vijay, the Annapoorani issue, and more.

RJ Balaji will soon be seen in Singapore Saloon.

The Singapore Saloon challenge

Since he started his movie career in 2013, actor and director RJ Balaji has had a release every single year, except in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. His next film, Singapore Saloon, is his first release in 2024.

Was this film and the role of Kathir a cakewalk? “No, it was tough for me,” confesses Balaji, adding, “I am used to working in a certain way as a director and Gokul has an extremely different style. I shoot all the happy scenes first and then the emotional and sentimental scenes. The first day I landed on the Singapore Saloon set, we shot the climax, then the next day we shot a song. So, every day, it was like I expected the unexpected. And when I write my roles, I always focus on my strengths and leave out the weaknesses like dance and so on. Whereas in this film, I had to do everything. This initially threw me off, but I adapted slowly.”

The LKG director believes that the Singapore Saloon experience has prepared him better for working with other filmmakers and also gotten him out of his comfort zone to some extent. “This is a movie that the youth of today will definitely relate to,” says RJ Balaji.

The Annapoorani controversy

Recently, Nayanthara’s film Annapoorani was taken down from Netflix after a controversy erupted over some scenes and dialogues in the film. Many Tamil filmmakers had voiced their concerns about a movie being censored after it had already been submitted and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification.

“There are two things – firstly, the Central Board of Film Certification, a Government of India body, has already watched the film, censored and certified it. So, when this was already done by the statutory body, how can a film be subject to scrutiny again? Doesn’t this undermine the authority of the censor board? Secondly, I have also seen that OTT companies and their legal teams are being extremely over-cautious, when filmmakers go to narrate scripts to them. A small instance – a filmmaker was asked to change the name of a character so as not to create any possible issues. Shouldn’t the OTT platforms take a strong stand and stand up for themselves when there’s an issue? I don’t understand this aspect,” reasons RJ Balaji.

The Lokesh Kanagaraj Connect

Interestingly, Leo director Lokesh Kanagaraj has done a cameo in Singapore Saloon. Did RJ Balaji ask him to do the cameo given that they are friends? “No,” he laughs. “Even Lokesh asked me if I had told Gokul to ask him. Actually, it was Lokesh, who sent Gokul to me to narrate the script. They know each other too; it was Gokul, who requested him.”

When you ask him how Lokesh was as an actor, RJ Balaji smiles and says, “You’ll have to watch Singapore Saloon and find out for yourself.”

Working With Thalapathy Vijay

Ask RJ Balaji whether he was a big fan of Kollywood star Vijay and pat comes the reply, “Yes, I am!” In fact, in 2022, Vijay’s team had gotten in touch with him for a script and he recounted what followed.

“When they asked for a script, my team and I put together a story and I went and narrated it to Vijay. This was before he started shooting for Varisu and Leo. He liked the script and asked whether we could shoot in April. I asked him, ‘Which April’ thinking it would be a year or so later. He said, ‘This April’ and I was stunned. I told him I couldn’t possibly be ready then because even for my own films I take at least six months to work on the script. And working with such a big star like him required that I give him the best and the time was just too short,” he explained.

However, RJ Balaji reiterates, “I definitely want to work with Thalapathy Vijay sometime and I hope the universe conspires!”

Is RJ Balaji related to Udhayanidhi Stalin?

Recently, there were stories doing the rounds on social media that RJ Balaji’s and Udhayanidhi Stalin’s wives were, in fact, sisters. “I had spoken at an audio launch about how Udhay and I had married girls from the same family, meaning that he and I had worked in films produced by Dr Ishari K Ganesh of Vel’s International. And I even explained that at the audio launch. Some overzealous journalists took the first statement and splashed it saying Udhay and I are brothers-in-law! We are not related in any way. I never respond to such things because I am off social media when I am shooting and writing. But this time, I felt I clarified this,” he says putting a full stop to this rumour.

Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! 🎞️🍿💃 Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel 📲 Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place