RJ Balaji on hosting his first satirical award show, quality over quantity in cinema and turning to cricket

Radio Jockey, actor, sports commentator and social activist. RJ Balaji, who is leading an extraordinary and multi-faceted career, has had a fruitful 2017 with fresh collaborations and new learnings. He was part of just four films this year – Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai, AR Murugadoss’ Spyder, Kannan’s Ivan Thanthiran and Mohan Raja’s Velaikkaran – but he let go of 11 other offers which did not whet his appetite to sign. However, Balaji does not lament his decisions despite the fact that a few films which he refuted went on to become box-office hits. “When I was about to kickstart my film career, a few of my acquaintances suggested me to do every role that comes my way regardless of the outcome. Yes, it would have been a profitable decision, but I wouldn’t have felt satisfied with the choices I had made. I believe that this generation is not inclined towards quantity but quality. The releases I had this year, irrespective of how they fared in the box office, gave me satisfaction. Ivan Thanthiran gave me the liberty to speak what I wanted to. Kaatru Veliyidai and Spyder are my investment towards the successive years of my film career. What I learned while working with Mani sir and AR Murugadoss sir is my deposit for the next year,” avers Balaji in this exclusive chat with Firstpost. [caption id=“attachment_4273511” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  RJ Balaji. Twitter[/caption] Balaji says he was approached by a few filmmakers to play the lead role in their films, but he turned down.  When asked the reason, he said, “Cinema is highly unpredictable. If I take the offers just for the sake of doing a hero character, it would be a terrible mistake. I can’t take up a role just for a high paycheck. I can only do the characters that I believe and can connect with. Only if I do such roles, I will end up getting better roles. I think I have done such a character in Vignesh Shivan’s Thaanaa Serndha Koottam. I don’t have screen presence throughout the movie, but the three sequences I have got are the most impactful ones. Thaanaa Serndha Koottam is the first film in my career where I see myself as a good performer.” It would not be a hyperbole to say that Naanum Rowdy Thaan, which was directed by Vignesh Shivan, is the career-best performance of Balaji so far. “Vignesh Shivan believes in me more than I do. During the Naanum Rowdy Thaan shoot, we were filming a sequence where I had to yell at Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi, and all I had was only a few minutes to deliver. When I said I couldn’t do such an emotional scene in an impromptu manner, he was the one who trusted me. And the scene was shot in a single take. He can bring out the best from me in his own way. And such an incident happened again in Thaanaa Serndha Koottam too,” recalled Balaji. Balaji was one of the pioneers to utilize the power of social media platforms positively. He created the ‘Chennai Micro’ team by assembling droves of volunteers via Twitter and Facebook during Chennai Floods in 2015. Through crowdsourcing, Balaji spearheaded a group of youngsters to supply food, essentials and groceries to the flood-hit victims. “In 2011, I realized the power of the internet when I uploaded the episodes of my show Cross Talk on YouTube and Facebook. I was amazed by the way the viewership increased. I used it effectively to showcase what I am good at. And that paved the way for many opportunities like the film industry, sports channel and now to my own show. All these are the perks of doing good work in one medium, which for me was radio,” said Balaji who is gearing up for his first satirical award show titled Ice House to White House in Chennai on Sunday. Shedding light on the format of the show, which is new to the Tamil audience, Balaji explained, “Of late, I have been getting requests from the Indians living in the US to do shows. When I decided to take the plunge, I had a few amateurish ideas, and I scrapped them off. After much thought, I decided to do a satirical award show. These days any outrage lasts for just a week. Since 2017 has been an eventful year for Tamils with a lot of memorable incidents, this show might help people to recall everything. We have written the play in such a way that even the award recipients wouldn’t feel hurt but enjoy the satire and humor in it.” Balaji’s Tamil cricket commentary on Star Sports has earned him immense love from netizens. From delivering side-splitting punchlines to exchanging good-natured banter with fellow commentators, his new job is already a super hit. “Since I had interest in cricket, I agreed to do commentary. When Srikanth and Harsha Bhogle provide expert views, people will not expect the same from me. So I decided to bring audiences’ point of view in my commentary. Fortunately, many liked it and when I meet my friends or family, it has become the significant part of the small talk. When I met Shankar sir during the 2.0 audio launch, he spoke a lot about my commentary. Gradually it has become a way to loosen up. But I won’t be a part of serious cricket like test matches,” he said.