RJ Balaji, a radio jockey-turned-actor who virtue-signalled as a rebel when the AIADMK was ruling Tamil Nadu and went mute after the DMK rose to power, has said that political netizens should stick to doing politics and not waste their energy on targeting films and making it a flop.
His comments come in light of another member of his ilk, the virtue-signalling actor Suriya, facing a humiliating disaster at the box office with the pan-Indian flop Kanguva.
He even said that he was afraid of posing with an Indian flag as people may ‘brand’ him as something – likely hinting at being labelled a nationalist or a BJP or Narendra Modi supporter.
At the trailer launch of his film ‘Sorgavasal’, RJ Balaji said, “Finally, I just have one thing to say. I’m terrified nowadays. There was an Indian flag outside. If I think of taking it in hand and posing [for a photo], I start worrying, ‘Ayiyo! Will they brand me as ‘someone’, ‘What if people say something?’. At first, I thought, “It’s just an Indian flag, and I’m an Indian, right?”. But then I think, what if people say something!”
He said that when he posted a poster announcing the trailer’s launch on social media, people started roasting him and his film producer/distributor SR Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures, who was earlier with Studio Green, the production house that produced the mega disaster Kanguva.
SR Prabhu is said to be a relative of Suriya and the Vice President of the Tamil Film Active Producers Council, which had called for a ban on YouTubers reviewing films and taking audience feedback from theatre premises. When this was pointed out by a Vijay fan online, SR Prabhu had said “Hello brother, you guys are crying for 5 years for the one hit we gave. There’s a lot of public work for you now. Go stand with your ‘Annan’ and do the next task. He’s a good man. Don’t go around spoiling his name.” SR Prabhu claimed the success of Kaithi, produced by his Dream Warrior Pictures, over Vijay’s film Bigil, both of which were released for Diwali 2019.
It is noteworthy to mention that RJ Balaji will be directing the wannabe pan-Indian actor Suriya’s next film tentatively titled “Suriya 45” which is produced by Dream Warrior Pictures.
“In their angst against SR Prabhu, they’re scolding me. I’m wondering why they scold me, but then they’re scolding me because they’re angry with him. If I look at this side, people scold me because of their anger against someone else. Then there’s another group that says that I’m a ‘paavadai’ [a term used to denote proselytizing missionaries] and therefore should target my film.“, he said, adding that he’s not a ‘paavadai’ but ‘veshti’, attempting to sound smart.
He said that he never understood at first about what ‘paavadai’ means. However, the ‘paavadai’ jibe against him comes as he lacked the spine to retain a scene mocking proselytization attempts by Christian missionaries in his movie Mookuthi Amman. The scene showed ‘jeba koottam’ (prayer meeting) shenanigans of missionaries where Mano Bala, playing a pastor, indulges in ‘healing’ through CDs.
முக்குத்தி அம்மன் படத்தில் இந்த காட்சி நீக்கப்பட்டு விட்டதால் நிறைய பேர் RJபாலாஜி யை திட்டி வருகிறார்கள்.
என்னை பொறுத்தவரை இப்படி ஒரு காட்சியை படமாக்கி படத்தில் வராது என்று தெரிந்தும் அதை டீசராக விட்ட RJ பாலாஜியின் துணிச்சலை பாராட்டுகிறேன். pic.twitter.com/1tFXBqKx85
— Jayam Sk Gopi (Jsk Gopi) (@JSKGopi) November 14, 2020
RJ Balaji further went on to say “I’m not a ‘paavadai’. Since I’m not a ‘paavadai’, some may think that I’m a ‘sanghi’ [a term used to denote Hindutva supporter]. I’m not a ‘sanghi’ either. Be it the IT wing of any party or any side, I’ve only one request. You guys do politics. You look at your politics. Why are you wasting your energy on targeting films that release every week? Are you getting money credited to your PayTM account for that? Go and fight among your politicians. Leave the films free. Likewise, it’s the same for fans of actors – Rajini fans, Kamal fans, Ajith fans, Vijay fans, Suriya fans. Let’s all watch good films. If you don’t like a film, you can say it. Everybody has the right. But targeting one film based on one’s preferences or because this person made this comment is a lot of energy waste for you. If the film is not good you can say it. But targeting and hitting is a little scary for me. I’m neither a ‘paavadai’, ‘pant-shirt’, ‘sanghi’ or ‘oopi’ [a term to denote DMK suporter] and neither I am a fan of anyone.”
However, this statement completely contradicted what he had said a few minutes ago in the same speech.
“From 2006-07, I am saying the same thing. If we take a biscuit to sell in a shop, anybody can say whether that biscuit is good or bad. Because that item has gone out of our hands. Likewise, it’s the same for cinema once we place it in the market. One can say it like ‘this biscuit is not nice’, another can say ‘Chi! Is this even a biscuit?’ Another person can write a mail for 10 pages saying, ‘This biscuit is stale. ‘ Everybody has their style. Anybody can review a film in any way. They can do it on YouTube, Twitter or Instagram. It’s their freedom. We can’t pluck the phone from everyone’s hand. We don’t have that control.“, RJ Balaji said in the same speech.
In a flop film titled ‘Kee’, he had peddled propaganda about GST, saying, “Shall I tell you a story, Siddharth sir? You and me go to the hotel to eat. But they’ll put a bill as if two other persons joined us. If we look at who it is, it would be GST! For whom? For what? Our stomach will burn!”
RJ Balaji had called the NEET exam a very tough exam that furthers inequality.
He had virtue-signalled in 2018 by refraining from doing commentary for the CSK Vs KKR IPL match to protest against the Central Government over formation of Cauvery Water Management Board.
It is ironic that RJ Balaji, who had made a career out of criticizing films in his radio show and parroting DMK’s talk points on NEET, GST, Demonetization, Jallikattu, and Cauvery issues, is now jittered about his films and facing the wrath of netizens who are calling him out for his double standards.
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