RJ Balaji reveals that Karuppu, now Suriya’s biggest box office hit, was originally conceived as Vijay’s final film before he entered politics.
Filmmaker RJ Balaji offered a candid look behind the scenes of his latest directorial Karuppu, the biggest Tamil film of the year and actor Suriya’s largest box office triumph, which crossed ₹200 crore worldwide within eight days of release.
In an exclusive conversation with THR India, Balaji spoke about how the film was originally written for actor-turned-politician Vijay as his final screen role before entering politics. “This was supposed to be his last film, so we had two or three meetings which went on for some time, discussing things like him entering politics and taking a call as to which film to make as his last film,” Balaji recalled.
Ultimately, Vijay backed out of the project, which Balaji took in his stride. "I felt his reasons were justified, I said, 'Sir, I absolutely respect your decision, thank you so much.' because by that time I had narrated two films to him when he asked me if I had something. I thought this was a big respect he gave for my work and my creativity,” he explained.
This ultimately led to Karuppu reaching Suriya. Karuppu, meaning Black, is fantasy action drama in which Karuppasamy, a guardian deity in Tamil folk religion, disguises himself as a lawyer to fight judicial corruption to save a young girl’s life. Balaji shared, "The producers came to me saying, 'you narrated the film to Vijay sir, can you narrate it to Suriya sir?'" Suriya loved the film and offered changes that helped Balaji create the final script.
Balaji even thanked Vijay in the film’s opening credits, adding, “The entire thing happened because he asked me the right questions after my narration, questions that made my film and my script better. So I think in spite of him not doing the film, it landed me this film.”
He also shared that Vijay, now serving as Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister, personally reached out to and congratulated the entire team following the film's release.
Watch the full interview with RJ Balaji on The Hollywood Reporter India's YouTube Channel at 8 pm tonight.