Raghu Balaiah (28 June 1953 – 2 November 2023), popularly known as Junior Balaiah, was an Indian actor who appeared in

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

films. The son of actor T. S. Balaiah, he primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, which stretched over 40 years.

Personal life

Junior Balaiah was born as Raghu Balaiah in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

(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 The Thoothukkudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India. On 20 October 1986, an M. G. Ramachandran-led government bifurcated the Tirunelveli district to form the district. It is shared by its boundaries w ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. For personal reasons, he turned to

Evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

following

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Balaiah died from suffocation on 2 November 2023, at the age of 70.

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

, setting up a healing centre called Healing Stripes Ministry. 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''. In 2014, Balaiah revealed his intentions of becoming a film producer to launch his son's acting career.

Selected filmography

*'' Melnaattu Marumagal'' (1975) *'' Ilaya Thalaimurai'' (1977) *'' Thyagam'' (1978) *''

Yamanukku Yaman ''Yamanukku Yaman'' () is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language fantasy comedy film directed by D. Yoganand. Starring Sivaji Ganesan and Sripriya, it is a remake of the 1977 Telugu film '' Yamagola''. The film was released on 16 May 1980, and became a ...

'' (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 ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic film, epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani (filmmaker), Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios, Vijaya Productions. The film w ...

'' (1995) *'' Irattai Roja'' (1996) *'' Pudhu Nilavu'' (1996) *'' Vaettiya Madichu Kattu'' (1996) *''

Kadhal Palli ''Kadhal Palli'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil language comedy drama film directed by Pavithran. The film stars Vignesh, Suvaluxmi, Vaiyapuri, Sukran and Jawahar, with Bhaskar Raj, Vichithra, Vinu Chakravarthy and Kumarimuthu playing supportin ...

'' (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) *''B.D'' (2024; Posthumous film)

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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaiah, Junior 1953 births 2023 deaths Male actors in Tamil cinema 21st-century Indian male actors Tamil comedians Deaths from asphyxiation