RJ Balaji on LKG's success, moving away from supporting roles, and upcoming projects

Radio jockey-turned-comedy actor RJ Balaji became a full-fledged hero with _LKG_ . It has turned out to be 2019’s third biggest hit after Ajith’s Viswasam and Rajinikanth’s Petta. LKG has emerged a blockbuster at the Tamil Nadu box office and is reported to have grossed Rs 15 crore in just 11 days in the state. Another Rs 3 crore has come in from overseas and the rest of India, making it the fastest film in recent times as far as ROI (return on investment) is concerned. Excerpts from the interview: Did you foresee LKG turning out to be such a huge success at the box office? I was confident that the film would succeed despite people dubbing it a spoof film on Tamil Nadu politics seeing the posters. I think content played a key role as the screenplay was well tuned. There were different layers to the story and people were entertained. Out of the 350 different political incidents in the last two years, we took just 15 incidents and infused them in the script. Some people said we won’t get a censor certificate, but we earned a U certificate which brought in family audiences as well. [caption id=“attachment_6135591” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  RJ Balaji in a still from LKG. YouTube[/caption] Do you think your brand worked in favour of LKG? Yes, people see me as the guy-next-door who they can lean on during difficult times. The best compliment I ever received was when a few years back an English magazine doing an article on the Chennai floods referred to me as “the friendly neighbourhood super hero”. I always try to remain rooted, humble and a middle class guy. The opening of LKG has surprised the trade. You have successfully transformed into a lead hero after playing the protagonists’ best friend… It is content that won. I have tremendous belief in myself and I know my strength and weakness. To be honest, I had had enough of playing the dumb and idiotic hero’s friend. I refused atleast 15 to 20 roles in the last few months as I wanted to get out of the rut and play a hero without inflicting losses on my producer or distributors. What made you do LKG without taking a salary? I was clear from the beginning that it is the budget that makes or breaks a film. Last year my Tamil comedy show Ice House to White House was staged in the USA in 8 cities. All the shows were pre-sold and I saw to it that they were profitable for my sponsors and the people who hosted the show in the various US cities. I too made a small profit. It opened my eyes and I used the same formula for the production of LKG. I made the film on a budget of Rs 3.5 crore and was keen not to charge any salary as it was my debut film as a hero and script writer. Do you think your business model can be replicated in Tamil cinema? LKG made profits for its distributors and producers in its first week itself, which is rare. The producer has been magnanimous in sharing some of the profits and I think it is the way forward. I don’t know about others, but I will be working on this model, which will be profitable for all. So will you not be playing the sidekick anymore? Yes, definitely. No more playing the hero friend. But I am open to other characters depending on the script. As of now, I will be doing films in which I’m also the script writer. Your release Boomerang has bigger posters of you than its hero _Atharva…_what are the other projects you’re working on? Is that so? I had completed Boomerang before I started the shoot of LKG. In the film, I play an activist as the film is based on the interesting subject of linking rivers across the country. Then there is an old film of mine, Young Mung Sung, a comedy film with Prabhu Deva and I have also done a cameo for my friend director Vijay in Devi 2. And with that, I’m shutting that door for supporting roles. When will you start your next film? My next film as the lead hero will be based on my script for the producers of LKG, Vels International. I am yet to start writing and will take time. I love doing Tamil cricket commentary and I have my commitment to Star Sports. I will be doing the IPL 2019 and ICC World Cup commentary from their studios in Mumbai.