After a series of roadblocks for Karuppu, including the recent removal of the 'Naanga Naalu Peru' song from the film and a change in its music composer, RJ Balaji's upcoming film is finally hitting theatres on May 14, Thursday. In a recent conversation with Sudhir Srinivasan, RJ Balaji opened up about his transformation from an actor to a filmmaker. Reminiscing about his journey in cinema, he said, "Vignesh Shivan once asked me to play a role in Thaana Serndha Kootam (2018), and I did it on the spot. At that time, I never imagined I would direct a film, let alone one with Suriya sir. Later, I decided to direct films because I did not like the roles that were offered to me. I had not acted well either, although I got better with each film. However, I wanted to do a film on my own."
The filmmaker added, "Drawing from my own journey, I told Ken Karunaas the same thing when we were shooting Sorgavaasal (2024). He was waiting for big directors and actors to start a project for him. I told him, 'What if they never do a film with you? Do not wait for others to make your career; do it yourself.' Eight months later, he came to my office and narrated the first half of Youth."
RJ Balaji also talked about his impression of Ken as a narrator and a drew a parallel between his and the latter's journeys in the film industry. "He delivered an extraordinary narration, acting out different characters with incredible energy. Although I haven't seen the film yet, I feel that its success comes from Ken’s passion to create something for himself. He even turned down producers until he found the right fit. He had that confidence," Balaji said, while suggesting that he also had a similar attribute to make something for himself.
