Over a year ago, RJ Balaji took a back seat from commenting on issues and channeled all that he had to say about films and politics in the state into the writing of his upcoming film LKG. The RJ and actor became best known for his film reviews which didn’t go well with the industry and had to be stopped later.
At a pre-release event of Thaana Serntha Koottam last year, he faced flack for speaking in support of ‘Sodakku Mela’, the song which politicians demanded be removed from the film for defaming them. A case was filed against RJ Balaji for saying, “Paatula inga prachanai illa, naatula dhaan prachanai. (There’s no problem in the song, there’s problem in the state.”
The incident kept bothering him and in many ways it lead to the writing of LKG, he said in an interview with ToI. “I wanted to tell them that I will say what I want to say. And cinema proved to be my medium. I did not turn writer to become a hero, but because I had so much to say,” he said.
He was hesitant to make a film on politicians, but the film was important to him because he didn’t simply take a dig on politicians but offered solutions to political issues, he said. “The first thing I decided was that it shouldn’t be a spoof film. I wanted to tell a story. The film is the journey of Lalgudi Karuppaiah Gandhi, a small-time politician. And there is definitely a takeaway in this film. I have provided a solution to our political issues.”
Unlike others in the industry, he urged people to criticise the film as much as they wanted to. And this was his response to those who had said, “Since you are criticising so much, why don’t you make a film?”
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“I request everyone to see my film, and rip it apart if they feel so, because this is a product on which they spend their money. Also, I don’t want people to criticise me only in a constructive way. Everyone has their own style and tone, so they can criticise in whatever manner they want to,” he said.
When asked if he was laying foundation for his political entry with such a film, he said he had already been political on many occasions like the Jalikkatu protests, and will continue to be. “I’m not interested in entering into the kind of politics where you have to contest in an election,” he said.
LKG releases on February 22. Starring RJ Balaji and Priya Anand in the lead, the film is directed by KR Prabhu and produced by Isari K Ganesh. The theatrical rights for LKG was recently acquired by Sakthi Film Factory.