On Tuesday, Karuppu actor-director RJ Balaji shared a post on X featuring photos of his meeting with actor-turned-chief minister Vijay. The photos also featured Balaji's wife, Divya. He started the caption of the post with the line, "With the man who started it all for Karuppu," for which he is now receiving flak on social media.

For the unversed, previously speculations were rife that RJ Balaji initially narrated Karuppu to Vijay as his swansong, which is Jana Nayagan now. While in some interviews RJ Balaji confirmed writing the script with Vijay in mind, initially, in some others, he also said that Karuppu was purely written for Suriya.

After he thanked Vijay as "the man who started it all for Karuppu," a lot of netizens have called out the director for not crediting Suriya enough. Reportedly, when Karuppu's release was delayed by a day due to unpaid dues, it was Suriya who paid them to ensure the film released on May 15. Following the success of the film, Suriya also gifted the film's DOP, GK Vishnu; music composer, Sai Abhyankkar; and editor, R Kalaivanan, with limited edition Mahindra cars.

Some netizens even asked if RJ Balaji would credit Vijay if the film was not a success. Some have quoted his speech at Elantra '26, a college cultural event where he said, "The reports about casting any other actor are just rumours. I wrote Karuppu for Suriya sir and have made it only for him. I narrated only 40 minutes of the story to him, and he immediately loved it."

Also starring Trisha, Swasika, Supreeth Reddy, Indrans, Sshivada, and Anagha Maya Ravi, among others, Karuppu has earned Rs 300 crore worldwide. Despite its box office success, the film, which marks the first collaboration between RJ Balaji and Suriya, opened to middling reviews.