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After India's [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Minister of Information and Broadcasting]] [[Prakash Javadekar]] told in the [[Rajya Sabha]] that legal action would be taken against radio jockeys who ridicule [[member of parliament|members of parliament]], Balaji in August 2014 cryptically told ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]'', "When I was a teenager I would fight with my sister for a room. Today parliamentarians are doing the same thing, fighting like teenagers. How can I not make fun of them?", while fearing they would soon ban even television anchors like [[Arnab Goswami]] and [[Rajdeep Sardesai]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140815/nation-current-affairs/article/we-joke-responsibly-say-radio-jockeys|title=We joke responsibly, say radio jockeys|work=Deccan Chronicle|accessdate=17 January 2015}}</ref>
After India's [[Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India)|Minister of Information and Broadcasting]] [[Prakash Javadekar]] told in the [[Rajya Sabha]] that legal action would be taken against radio jockeys who ridicule [[member of parliament|members of parliament]], Balaji in August 2014 cryptically told ''[[Deccan Chronicle]]'', "When I was a teenager I would fight with my sister for a room. Today parliamentarians are doing the same thing, fighting like teenagers. How can I not make fun of them?", while fearing they would soon ban even television anchors like [[Arnab Goswami]] and [[Rajdeep Sardesai]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140815/nation-current-affairs/article/we-joke-responsibly-say-radio-jockeys|title=We joke responsibly, say radio jockeys|work=Deccan Chronicle|accessdate=17 January 2015}}</ref>
In January 2015, Balaji, RJ's Girigiri, Ananthi, Mirdhula and actor [[R. Sarathkumar]] contributed to "Kodu Kondadu", an initiative by BIG FM and the non-governmental organisation [[BHUMI (organization)|BHUMI]] to supply impoverished children with necessities like stationary, toys and books.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webnewswire.com/node/3631238|title=92.7 BIG FM AND SARATH KUMAR TOGETHER WITH BHUMI FOR KODU KONDADU! - webnewswire.com|publisher=Webnewswire.com|date=9 January 2015|accessdate=23 January 2015}}</ref>


===Other works===
===Other works===

Revision as of 17:12, 23 January 2015

For the actor, formerly an RJ, see Balaji Venugopal.
In this Indian name, the name Patturaj is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Balaji.
RJ Balaji
File:RJ Balaji 2013.jpg
Balaji at the Madras Music Academy, during the Hiphop Tamizha concert in 2013
Born
Balaji Patturaj[1]

(1985-06-20) 20 June 1985 (age 38)
NationalityIndian
Other namesCross Talk Balaji
Occupation(s)Radio jockey, television show host, actor
Years active2006–present

Balaji Patturaj (born 20 June 1985) popularly known as RJ Balaji, is an Indian radio jockey, television show host and occasional actor based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He is best known as the host of the BIG FM 92.7 shows Take it Easy and the now defunct Cross Talk, where he made prank calls to unsuspecting victims. He is also known for his acting roles in Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru (2013) and Vadacurry (2014).

Early life

Balaji was born on 20 June[2] 1985,[3] and was raised in Chennai. He has said that he changed 24 houses and 11 schools while growing up in Chennai.[4] After completing his B.Sc computer science from the Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts in 2006,[5] he joined the Amrita School of Communication in Coimbatore for a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism,[6] because he wanted to become like his cousin who worked at NDTV, but when he was asked to write a report on his hostel's canteen, the 56-word report contained 47 grammatical errors, and he soon realised that English journalism was not what he was interested in.[4] At that time he saw a newspaper advertisement of a radio station that auditioned for RJs and he applied for it,[7] though he "never knew what an RJ was back then".[4] He said that he almost did not get selected then[8] when he sang a gaana[4] but was finally selected in November 2006. He stopped his journalism course and has not completed it since.[4]

Career

Radio career

Balaji started his career as an RJ in Coimbatore where he hosted a three-hour morning drive show called Hello Coimbatore which dealt with social issues.[4] After four years he quit the job as he "didn't want to sound angry all the time" and returned to Chennai where his family and friends were living.[4] He joined at BIG FM 92.7, where he began the evening primetime show Take it Easy (started mainly to give people "a break from the serious stuff that they have to deal with during work hours and relax with the nonsense"), followed by another show titled Cross Talk, where he made prank calls to unsuspecting victims, nominated by a friend/cousin/co-worker or neighbour.[9]

Cross Talk became very popular among youths;[4] he uploaded several clips of the show on SoundCloud. The links went viral, crossing over a million hits in a mere one week. Besides India, most of the downloads were in the United States (over 20%), United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Seychelles, Germany and Spain.[3] In November 2011, Balaji and RJ's Muthu and Ophelia of BIG FM conducted "Little RJ Hunt", a three-phased event organised as part of the radio station's Children's Day celebrations.[10][11] Balaji won the RJ of the Year (Tamil) and Best Programme Broadcast after 11am (Tamil) awards for Take it Easy at the 2012 Indian Excellence in Radio Awards.[12][13] The show earned him the moniker "Cross Talk Balaji".[7] Later he was named amongst the Top 10 Promising Personalities of Tamil Nadu in 2012 by Ananda Vikatan Group.[14] He has also been running the "RJ Balaji Skool of Radio Studies" since August 2013.[15] Two apps on Balaji have been developed: An Android app simply named "RJ Balaji",[16] and an iOS app titled "RJ Balaji Official".[17]

In December 2012, Balaji discontinued Cross Talk, in response to the death of Jacintha Saldanha.[18][19] In November 2013, Balaji decided to stop the segment 120 Rs. on his show where he reviewed Tamil films, after he had been severely criticised by actors and producers from the Tamil film industry.[20] A few months before, he had also been threatened by an employee from UTV Motion Pictures for his review of Settai.[19][21][22] Via Twitter, he announced, "I am a normal guy who wants to do good work everyday and go home happy. I can't really handle aftermath of every show on films. After a lot of thought, I have decided not to speak about films until there's tolerance and maturity among certain people from film fraternity, which is most unlikely to happen. So, '120 show' is no more".[19] He further stated, "I don't want to keep taking my work home. I have a one-and-half-year-old child and my wife is concerned about the phone calls I keep getting".[20] As of July 2014, the show still runs, where he only reviews Hindi and English-language films.[23]

After India's Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar told in the Rajya Sabha that legal action would be taken against radio jockeys who ridicule members of parliament, Balaji in August 2014 cryptically told Deccan Chronicle, "When I was a teenager I would fight with my sister for a room. Today parliamentarians are doing the same thing, fighting like teenagers. How can I not make fun of them?", while fearing they would soon ban even television anchors like Arnab Goswami and Rajdeep Sardesai.[24] In January 2015, Balaji, RJ's Girigiri, Ananthi, Mirdhula and actor R. Sarathkumar contributed to "Kodu Kondadu", an initiative by BIG FM and the non-governmental organisation BHUMI to supply impoverished children with necessities like stationary, toys and books.[25]

Other works

File:Techofes 2013 cultural fest gallery 13.jpg
Balaji conducting the event Mr. and Ms. Techofes, 2013

Alongside his radio career, Balaji has been active in other fields as well. He hosted the teaser trailer release event for Maattrraan (2012),[26] and was briefly a host of Vijay TV's dance show Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhu Dheva.[15] One of his earliest film appearances was Azhagiya Theeye (2004).[27] In Puthagam (2013), he introduces the lead characters played by Sathya, Sanjay, Vignesh and Rakul Preet Singh, in a voice-over.[28] In the same year, he made a cameo appearance in Ethir Neechal on request from his friends,[29][5] and made his full-fledged acting debut in Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru. He stated that working on that film were the "20 best days of my life".[4]

He appeared in a brief role as a show host in Vallinam (2014).[29][30] He has conducted the event Mr. and Ms. Techofes at the College of Engineering, Guindy twice, in 2012[31] and 2013.[32] Balaji was also the host of Zee Tamizh's Why This Kolaveri, a loose adaptation of the American reality show Killer Karaoke, which aired in December 2013,[33][34] and ended in May 2014.[35] His second film appearance in 2014 was in Vaayai Moodi Pesavum,[36] followed by a major role as the title character in Vadacurry.[37] His next film appearances will be in Vishnuvardhan's Yatchan,[38] and Vignesh Shivan's Naanum Rowdydhaan. [39]

In March 2014, Balaji claimed to have been a presenter at Sangarsh, a yearly charity concert that raises money for people suffering from various diseases.[40] In August 2014, Balaji hosted the show "Aiyo Amma Awards", a spoof of the Vijay Awards, on Zee Tamizh.[41] The same month, he gave an intro in The Madras Song, a song meant to be a tribute to the 375th anniversary of Chennai, formerly known as Madras.[42][43] In November 2014, Balaji created "Panjumittai Productions", a YouTube channel where he uploads short videos dealing with contemporary issues. The first video uploaded to the channel is "Kai Phone Video 01: RJ Balaji’s Biriyani!!!", featuring Balaji distributing parcels of biryani to impoverished people on the road. The second, "Kai Phone Video 02: RJ Balaji’s 501 Views Success Party!!!", is a satire on the "success parties" that production companies host to celebrate the apparent box office success of their films.[44] He has also played in the 2015 edition of the Celebrity Cricket League, for the team Chennai Rhinos as an all-rounder.[45][46]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Azhagiya Theeye Waiter
2013 Puthagam Voice only
2013 Ethir Neechal Himself
2013 Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru Karna
2014 Vallinam Show host
2014 Vaayai Moodi Pesavum Himself
2014 Vadacurry Karikalan alias Vadacurry
2015 Yatchan Filming[47]
2015 Naanum Rowdydhaan Filming[48]
2015 Pugazh Filming[49]

References

  1. ^ "Students' website on villages gives solutions to local issues". The Hindu. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  2. ^ "A Vadacurry birthday for Rj Balaji". Behindwoods.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b Subha j rao (24 July 2011). "Sound waves". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Sudhish Kamath (1 November 2013). "An 'awesomatic' run". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Balaji Took it Easy in College". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  6. ^ "News and Events " Amrita Alumnus Honored by Rotary Club". www.amrita.edu. 10 October 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  7. ^ a b Anusha Parthasarathy (24 May 2012). "Making waves". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  8. ^ Shenoy, Sonali. "App-reciation aplenty for RJ Balaji". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  9. ^ Srinivasan, Madhumitha (10 August 2011). "Take it easy!". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  10. ^ MADHUMITHA SRINIVASAN. "Game for the hunt". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  11. ^ T.S. Atul Swaminathan. "Big little RJ hunt, a success". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  12. ^ "92.7 BIG FM's RJ Balaji Bags Two awards at the Indian Excellence in Radio Awards 2012". Afaqs.com. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  13. ^ "IRF 2012; Mirchi takes the cake; RED FM gets best station recognition". Adgully.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  14. ^ "RJ Balaji named amongst top 10 Promising Personality of Tamil Nadu in 2012 | Editorial-News". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Verbal diarrhoea we can't get enough of". The New Indian Express. 30 October 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  16. ^ "RJ Balaji - Android-apps op Google Play". Google Play. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  17. ^ "RJ Balaji Official on the App Store on iTunes". iTunes. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  18. ^ Frederick, Prince (12 December 2012). "Hang up on prank calls". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  19. ^ a b c Deepika Ramesh (7 November 2013). "Fielding the brickbats". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  20. ^ a b Karthik Subramanian (7 November 2013). "RJ chucks film review segment after controversy". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  21. ^ "'Vadacurry' Movie Review Roundup: Clean Entertainer". International Business Times. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  22. ^ "Twitter / RJ_Balaji: @Dhananjayang I wanted to end ..." Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  23. ^ "A Face to The Voice: The RJ Balaji Interview". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  24. ^ "We joke responsibly, say radio jockeys". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  25. ^ "92.7 BIG FM AND SARATH KUMAR TOGETHER WITH BHUMI FOR KODU KONDADU! - webnewswire.com". Webnewswire.com. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  26. ^ K. R. Manigandan (12 July 2012). "Twin role". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  27. ^ "Azhagiya Theeye Movie On J Movies - Times Of india". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  28. ^ "Puthagam - A Slow page turner". IndiaGlitz. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  29. ^ a b Gupta, Rinku (4 May 2013). "Theeya Velai Seiyanum Kumaru was tempting: Balaji". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  30. ^ "Review: Vallinam is a decent sports based drama film". Rediff.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  31. ^ "An 'Awesomatic of the Aaromale' night with RJ Balaji - CoolAge". Coolage.in. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  32. ^ RJ Balaji's Mr. and Ms. Techofes 2013 on YouTube
  33. ^ Mrinalini Sundar (27 December 2013). "Being Balaji". Indulge. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  34. ^ "Why this Kolaveri - a TVshow [sic]". The Times of India. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  35. ^ "Y this Kolaveri". Zee Tamizh. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  36. ^ Baradwaj Rangan (3 May 2014). ""Vaayai Moodi Pesavum"… Speak season | Baradwaj Rangan". Baradwajrangan.wordpress.com. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  37. ^ "'Vadacurry' Movie Review Roundup: Clean Entertainer". Ibtimes.co.in. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  38. ^ "RJ-actor Balaji to Wait and Watch". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  39. ^ "RJ Balaji join hands with Vijay Sethupathy". Sify. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  40. ^ Udhav Naig (24 March 2014). "Happy notes". The Hindu. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  41. ^ "RJ Balaji mocks Vijay Awards on Zee Tamizh". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  42. ^ "The Madras Song". Murugappa Group. YouTube. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  43. ^ "Resonating with the spirit of the metropolis". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  44. ^ Udhav Naig (23 November 2014). "Tube watch: RJ's videos present snapshots of issues". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  45. ^ "Kollywood stars all set to play cool". The Times of India. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  46. ^ "Celebrity Cricket League (CCL): Jiiva Replaces Vishal Krishna as Skipper of Chennai Rhinos". International Business Times. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  47. ^ Subha J. Rao (7 July 2014). "Speaking his way to success". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  48. ^ "'Naanum Rowdy Dhaan' first schedule wrapped". The Times of India. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  49. ^ "PUGAZH - IMAGES (2 of 12)". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 13 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to RJ Balaji.

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