Junior Balaiah

Junior Balaiah
Born	Raghu Balaiah[1] (1953-06-28)28 June 1953[2] Madras, Madras State, India
Died	2 November 2023(2023-11-02) (aged 70)[3] Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Actor, drama artiste
Years active	1975–2023
Spouse	Suzanna
Children	Niveditha Rohit
Parent(s)	T.S. Balaiah, Leelavati
Family	Manochithra (sister)

Raghu Balaiah (28 June 1953 – 2 November 2023), popularly known as Junior Balaiah, was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language films. The son of actor T. S. Balaiah, he primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, which stretched over 40 years.^[4]

Personal life

Junior Balaiah was born as Raghu Balaiah in Chennai (then known as Madras) on 28 June 1953. He was the third son of actor T. S. Balaiah. His home was Sundankottai, now in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu.^[5] For personal reasons, he turned to Evangelism following Christianity.^[6]

Balaiah died from suffocation on 2 November 2023, at the age of 70.^[7]

Career

T. S. Balaiah died three days into Junior Balaiah's first film as an actor. T. S. Balaiah was to have acted in a movie directed by M. R. Radha called Suttaan Sutten, in which Radha's son was to be played by Junior Balaiah and Balaiah's son was to be played by M. R. R. Vasu, but his death ended the production. Junior Balaiah then acted in several films but failed to recreate the success of his father. He subsequently became bankrupt and later began to practise Christianity, setting up a healing centre called Healing Stripes Ministry.^[8]

In the 2010s, Balaiah made rare appearances in films and won acclaim for his portrayal of a headmaster in Saattai (2012). He appeared in four films in 2015 including Thani Oruvan and Puli.^[9][10]

In 2014, Balaiah revealed his intentions of becoming a film producer to launch his son's acting career.^[9]

Selected filmography

• Melnaattu Marumagal (1975)
• Ilaya Thalaimurai (1977)
• Thyagam (1978)
• Yamanukku Yaman (1980)
• Vazhvey Maayam (1982)
• Dhooram Adhighamillai (1983)
• Anbe Odi Vaa (1984)
• Karagattakaran (1989)
• Gopura Vasalile (1991)
• Vigneshwar (1991)
• Chinna Thayee (1992)
• Amma Vanthachu (1992)
• Rasukutty (1992)
• Sundara Kandam (1992)
• Amaravathi (1993) as Rickshaw driver
• Enga Muthalali (1993)
• Pavithra (1994)
• Veetla Visheshanga (1994)
• Avatharam (1995)
• Mayabazar (1995)
• Irattai Roja (1996)
• Pudhu Nilavu (1996)
• Vaettiya Madichu Kattu (1996)
• Kadhal Palli (1997)
• Vivasaayi Magan (1997)
• Cheran Chozhan Pandian (1998)
• Bharathi (2000)
• Aandan Adimai (2001)
• Shakalaka Baby (2002)
• Julie Ganapathi (2003)
• Jayam (2003)
• Winner (2003)
• Sringaram (2007)
• Vattapaarai (2012)
• Saattai (2012)
• Kumki (2012)
• Thunai Mudhalvar (2015)
• Thani Oruvan (2015)
• Puli (2015)
• Om Shanthi Om (2015)
• Sethu Boomi (2016)
• Narai (2018)
• Koothan (2018)
• Nerkonda Parvai (2019)
• Sanga Thalaivan (2021)
• Maara (2021)
• Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam (2021)

Web series

• Mugilan

Television

• Chithi (2000–2001) as James
• Vazhkai (2000-2001) as Prabhakar's father
• Chinna Papa Periya Papa (2014) Season 1 as Masanam

References

1. "Celebs and Valentine's Day - 1 - ChennaiLiveNews.com". Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
2. "Junior Balaiya". Nadigar Sangam. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
3. "Junior Balaiah Death News: Actor Junior Balaiah passes away". The Times of India. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
4. Guy, Randor (16 August 2014). "Darling of the masses". The Hindu.
5. "Darling of the masses". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 August 2014.
6. "Junior Balaiah". nettv4u.com. Chennai, India.
7. Junior Balaiah's death
8. "Actor Junior T. S. Balaiah's Testimony - 05/12/2010".
9. Raman, Mohan (23 August 2014). "100 years of laughter". The Hindu.
10. Raghavan, Nikhil (7 February 2015). "The ghost is clear". The Hindu.

External links

• Junior Balaiah at IMDb