Kamal Ghorui
In an exclusive interview, RJ Balaji talks about the journey of directing his biggest film yet in Karuppu — reshaping a childhood memory into a script for stars, earning Suriya’s total trust, backing a breakout composer in Sai Abhyankkar, and resisting the pan-India playbook, and shares his thoughts on fans, the OTT-theatrical transition, and more... When you first started, there were several rumours about this project: this was supposed to be a sequel to Mookuthi Amman 2; you had changed your script into a hero-centric one; you had narrated it first to Vijay. Any truth to all these speculations? I started writing Karuppu in August 2023. As the idea grew bigger and more exciting, I felt I needed a very big star for the film. And in that space, I thought it would be amazing if that star was Vijay sir. He had already asked me for a script some time around 2021–22. I’d gone and narrated a story to him. After hearing it, he said, “This is very big. How can we do this immediately?” He asked if it could be done right away. I said it would take around fourteen months. Then I said, “No, no — I can’t do it immediately. Even for my own film, I won’t rush. For a Vijay sir film, I will take a lot of time.” So I let go of that opportunity. But it felt really good — I was very happy — because he liked my idea. He felt it was a big idea… and it was. He told me he was looking for something in my style — like LKG or Mookuthi Amman — something satirical, something that families could watch in a light, enjoyable way. This script did have those elements, along with things suited for a big star. I met him and narrated it. He loved it, and we met multiple times after that. But that’s when he also moved into politics. So it didn’t materialise in the end. But I was okay with it. I narrated this story to Suriya sir. After he came on board, I made a few changes to suit him.With respect to Mookuthi Amman 2, I never intended to make a sequel to the first one. But its makers did. Sundar C, Nayanthara and producer Ishari Ganesh… they all spoke to me. They’ve taken that title because it’s their production. But it’s a completely different film.So far, you’ve made films on a smaller scale. This is a big-star vehicle. Was that challenging? Nayanthara is a superstar, and I worked with her in my second film, and we catered to a wide audience. When I narrated this script to AR Rahman sir, he mentioned that my films have a sense of belonging and strong takeaways. Those sensibilities remain intact. But this film is bigger in scale, more ‘mass’ — catering to a larger audience. There’s a hero who looks great, fights powerfully, acts brilliantly, dances well… who does everything. Did you have to factor in Suriya’s fans?More than Suriya sir, I was clear that everything his fans like about him should be present in the film. Was it new to me, and difficult? Yes. Did I enjoy doing it, with full conviction? Yes. Because that’s the kind of cinema I grew up watching… films like Muthu, Padayappa, Baashha. There’s a strong opening, a fun interval fight, a powerful climax…. Since it’s a big-hero film, I wanted my hero to dance, smile, do comedy, fight, throw challenges, respond to the villain’s challenges. Incorporating all these elements within a story that has a strong core was easier, but executing all of it was difficult. However, having a star and an actor of Suriya sir’s presence, stature and calibre made things easier. How different was the experience of directing a star like him?Great acting is not just about crying or shouting. Presence… that’s what defines a star. And Suriya sir is a bona fide star with extraordinary screen presence. That itself solved a lot of things as the star helps you make a scene work well on screen. An actor who’s also a star brings a huge difference to the table. He trusted me 200 per cent. Whenever I asked him to do something, he never questioned it — he surrendered to the process. That level of trust and freedom doubled my responsibility. All the doubts he had were addressed during the scripting stage, so, from the first day on set till the completion of the film, it was easy to work with him. The actor-director relationship we shared on set was the most comfortable experience.You say this is a big-hero film, but is it still an RJ Balaji film? The base of the film is mine. It is mounted on a big scale because of a big star. This is essentially RJ Balaji making a big-hero film. I’m very clear that this is Suriya sir’s film. At the same time, it has something that I feel very strongly about. What exactly is RJ Balaji’s style as a filmmaker? If there’s any “style” I want to associate with my films, it’s this — an entertainment film that engages the entire audience. There are certain films, like Padayappa, Mudhalvan and Ghilli, that no matter how many times they are aired on TV, we keep watching them. And that’s the kind of film I want to make. I don’t know if that’s my “style” yet, but that’s what I aspire to do.As a filmmaker, how did you adapt to the scale of this film? When you move from making films on a certain budget to something 10 times bigger, the work and the learning also become 10 times more. I had to learn, unlearn, adapt, and get the best out of people — technicians like GK, Vishnu, Arun Venjaramoodu, Sai Abhyankkar, Kalaivanan — who are excellent at what they do. I felt fortunate to work with so many strong actors, from Suriya sir and Trisha to Natty, Swaswika, Indrans and Sshivada. To have four or five such performers sharing the same frame — and performing at that level — was a great experience. This film has only made me a better person and a better filmmaker. But my yardstick is always simple — a film should be better than my previous one. And in that sense, this is a much bigger and better film.How did you take the decision to go for a relatively new composer like Sai Abhyankkar in place of someone of AR Rahman’s stature?I understand that people might think, “If a big composer like Rahman sir steps out, the next choice should also be someone in that same league.” But that’s not how I looked at it. I hadn’t met Sai before this film. What I saw in him was an abundance of energy. And I wanted to tap that energy fully. I told the production and Suriya sir. Naturally, it was a surprise for everyone, because replacing Rahman sir with someone new is a big shift. But I said, “Please trust me.” This is Sai’s first big-scale film, though he has now signed many more such projects. And today, everyone feels it was the right decision.Sai has a method to his brilliance. You don’t have to constantly sit with him. And he’s very accessible; every day, he would deliver something. If he needed time, he’d communicate clearly. That clarity made the process smooth. Every generation has its own set of composers. I think the next generation is going to hear a lot more of him.What kind of music did you want from him? I wanted Sai to compose music in his style, with his vision. The script he reads should become his music. That was my brief. I hardly gave him any references, because mine would be from my own musical sensibilities, and I wanted his. He operates in a musical space I’m not familiar with because he belongs to a different generation. I wanted him to compose from his perspective, his taste, his vision.Since he’s from a different generation, how did you decide which tunes to say ‘yes’ to? I’ve been an RJ for two decades and my job was to play music for everyone. So, that helped. I also believe I have a decent sense of music. Take a song like Aasa Kooda — I liked it, you would have liked it, and even my son liked it. There’s no generational divide there, right? The same applies here. You don’t need deep musical knowledge to like a song — if it connects, it works. Good music transcends age, generation, and era.These days, every big-star film is assembled with actors from across industries for pan-Indian reach. But with Karuppu, the casting doesn’t seem to reflect this trend…Yes, that casting trend exists. If you make a film with a ₹500 crore budget, you can’t recover that from just one market. But for this film, I always felt it would work very well across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Because, the core of the film — Karuppusamy — exists across regions. In Kerala, similar deities exist. In Andhra, there’s Pothuraju. In Karnataka, too, people are familiar with such divine forms. And in Tamil Nadu, you’ll hardly find a place without Karuppusamy. When that’s the case, I felt the story would naturally connect across these four regions.In North India, there is Kaal Bhairav, but I didn’t want to design the film keeping the North Indian market in mind or bring in actors from there just for that reason. For me, it’s very important that my actors know Tamil — or at least understand it. Because, that’s when my humour comes through properly, the timing works, and the emotional beats are understood. So, I didn’t think in terms of “pan-India”. I wanted to make a proper mainstream Tamil film, which would also work as a proper mainstream Telugu film.Did the current socio-political climate influence this decision? Because, if an actor plays a deity, many in the north expect them to not smoke or have non-veg food. Whereas here, offering meat to deities is part of tradition… Honestly, I’m only thinking about it now because you asked. It wasn’t a factor at all. I believe this is a film that will cater to everyone. There are no controversies attached to it — that was never the intention while writing it either. It has something strong that everyone can take back with them. And it’s an entertaining film. More than anything, I want this film to unite people, not divide them. It’s not like I made anything with the idea of provoking reactions or creating opposition. Everything in this film is made for everyone. For people who know Karuppusamy, the way offerings are made here — that’s part of our culture. So, ultimately, I’ve made a film rooted in our space, our people.With this film, a few days ago, fans were be trending negative things. Have fans, in general, become overly demanding?No, this isn’t new. Fans expect constant updates. You have to make sure you communicate at the right time. Only the medium has changed — Twitter, Instagram, YouTube — so everything is visible. But it’s not just fans. A fan might post on Twitter that there’s a fight between the director and the producer. YouTube channels pick it up. Then, it reaches mainstream media, and shows up on TV channels. And my mother calls me asking, “What is all this?” So, how can you blame only fans? This is a collective ecosystem now. Everything gets amplified, misread, misquoted, and blown out of proportion — whether it’s cinema, cricket, or anything happening anywhere in the world. This is the time we live in. We can’t really complain or change it. We just have to navigate it. Sometimes, you need to stay quiet. Sometimes, you need to step in and clarify things. Situational awareness is key in today’s times.One of the reasons mentioned for the film’s delay is the OTT deal. How crucial has that become for big films these days?Not just for big films, for any film, OTT had become a major deciding factor after COVID. But going forward, I don’t think it will remain the same. The market dynamics are changing. Earlier, people decided a film’s budget based on OTT deals. In the last 2-3 years, many films have faced this issue where expectations from OTT platforms didn’t match, or their release cycles didn’t align. Our film also went through that phase. But now, things are clear. Our OTT deal is almost finalised. But this uncertainty around big films eventually affects smaller films in the industry…It’s a broader issue. I understand smaller films hesitate to fix dates because they’re unsure if a big film might arrive. As an industry, there are changes we can make to streamline release cycles that will benefit both small and big films. Earlier, people believed big films should release during festivals like Diwali. But a big film can draw crowds even on a normal day. Will people come if you release a small film during a festival? Or will they say, “We expected a big film”? Ideally, there should be some kind of structured system where release schedules are better organised. At least we should define clear windows for smaller films.Sometimes even a small film can become a big film, like it happened with Thaai Kizhavi. So, release dynamics are constantly shifting, and will eventually streamline. Now that people are no longer depending entirely on OTT for their business model, the focus is returning to theatrical. And with that, producers will have more control in deciding release dates. So overall, things will only get better from here.
