Raghu Balaiah, popularly known as Junior Balaiah (born 28 June 1953) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. The son of actor

T. S. Balaiah Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (23 August 1914 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films. Born in Sundankottai, near Udankudi in Thoothukudi, Balaiah was introduced to the cine fiel ...

, Junior Balaiah has primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, which has stretched over forty years.

Personal life

Junior Balaiah was born in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

as Raghu Balaiah on 28 June 1953. He was the third son of actor

. His home is Sundankottai, now in

Thoothukudi district Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distr ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

. For personal reasons, he turned to

Evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

following

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Career

died three days into Junior Balaiah's first film as an actor. T. S. Balaiah was to act 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 consequently acted in several films but failed to recreate the success of his father. He subsequently became bankrupt and later began to practice

, 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 ''Saattai'' () is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by M. Anbazhagan. The film features Samuthirakani and Thambi Ramaiah in pivotal roles. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by D. Imman. The sho ...

'' (2012). He appeared in four films in 2015 including ''

Thani Oruvan ''Thani Oruvan'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Mohan Raja and written by Raja and Suresh and Balakrishnan. Produced by Kalpathi S. Aghoram, S. Ganesh and S. Suresh under the studio AGS Entertainment, it ...

'' and '' Puli''. In 2014, Balaiah revealed his intentions of becoming a film producer to launch his son's acting career.

Selected filmography

*''

Melnaattu Marumagal ''Melnaattu Marumagal'' () is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language film directed by A. P. Nagarajan, starring Sivakumar, Laurance Pourtale, Kamal Haasan and Jayasudha. Vani Ganapathy, a danseuse appeared only for a dance sequence alongside Haasan, ...

'' (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 b ...

'' (1980) *''

Vazhvey Maayam ''Vaazhvey Maayam'' () is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by R. Krishnamoorthy, starring Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Sripriya. It is a remake of the 1981 Telugu film '' Premabhishekam''. The film was released on 26 Ja ...

'' (1982) *''

Dhooram Adhighamillai ''Dhooram Adhighamillai'' is a 1983 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Robert–Rajasekar, starring Karthik, Viji and Janagaraj. The film had musical score by Shankar–Ganesh and was released in 1983. Plot Meena, the lead actress in ...

'' (1983) *'' Anbe Odi Vaa'' (1984) *''

Karagattakaran ''Karakattakkaran'' () is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasunda ...

'' (1989) *''

Gopura Vasalile ''Gopura Vasalile'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by Priyadarshan, starring Karthik and Bhanupriya. It relies on various subplots from the Malayalam film '' Pavam Pavam Rajakumaran'' (1990) and the Hindi film '' ...

'' (1991) *'' Vigneshwar'' (1991) *'' Chinna Thayee'' (1992) *''

Amma Vanthachu ''Amma Vandhachu'' () is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by P. Vasu, and produced by Poornima Bhagyaraj. The film stars K. Bhagyaraj, Khushbu and Baby Sridevi, with Delhi Ganesh, Vennira Aadai Moorthy, Ch ...

'' (1992) *'' Raasukutti'' (1992) *'' Sundara Kandam'' (1992) *'' Amaravathi'' (1993) as Rickshaw driver *''

Enga Muthalali ''Enga Muthalali'' () is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Liaquat Ali Khan. The film stars Vijayakanth and Kasthuri. It was released on 13 November 1993. Plot Vijaya Ragunadhan (Vijayakanth), a kind-hearted landlord and t ...

'' (1993) *''

Pavithra ''Pavithra'' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, produced and directed by K. Subash under his home banner, Dhanooja Films. The film stars Raadhika, Nassar, Ajith Kumar and Keerthana. It was released on 2 November 1994, Diwali d ...

'' (1994) *''

Veetla Visheshanga ''Veetla Visheshanga'' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film, written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj. The film stars Bhagyaraj himself and Pragathi, with Janagaraj, Suresh and Tanikella Bharani in supporting roles. It was released on 1 ...

'' (1994) *'' Avatharam'' (1995) *''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, w ...

'' (1995) *'' Irattai Roja'' (1996) *''

Pudhu Nilavu ''Pudhu Nilavu'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language film, written, directed and produced by Visnhuhasan. The film stars Jayaram, Vineetha, Ramesh Aravind and Sanghavi. The film had musical score by Deva. Plot Madan breaks his friendship with An ...

'' (1996) *''

Vaettiya Madichu Kattu ''Vaettiya Madichu Kattu'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj. The film stars himself in lead role with his real-life son Shanthanu portraying his son with Nagma and Saikumar playing supporting roles. T ...

'' (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 supporting r ...

'' (1997) *''

Vivasaayi Magan ''Vivasaayi Magan'' (English: Farmer's son) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Ramarajan and produced by Rani Azhakappan. The film stars Ramarajan, Devayani, K. R. Vijaya and Vadivelu. The film had musical score by Sirpy. Ca ...

'' (1997) *''

Cheran Chozhan Pandian ''Cheran Chozhan Pandian'' is a 1998 Indian Tamil language comedy film directed by Senthamizhan, who had previously directed the film ''Sindhu Nathi Poo'' (1994). The film stars Ranjith, Anand Babu and Vadivelu. The low-budget film, produced by ...

'' (1998) *'' Bharathi'' (2000) *'' Aandan Adimai'' (2001) *''

Shakalaka Baby ''Mudhalvan'' () is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film produced by R. Madhesh and S. Shankar, written and directed by Shankar. The film stars Arjun, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran while Vadivelu and Manivannan appear in ...

'' (2002) *''

Julie Ganapathi ''Julie Ganapathi'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film written, photographed, edited and directed by Balu Mahendra, starring Saritha, Jayaram and Ramya Krishnan. It is based on the 1987 Stephen King novel '' Misery''. ...

'' (2003) *'' Jayam'' (2003) *''

Winner Winner(s) or The Winner(s) may refer to: * Champion, the victor in a game or contest *The successful social class in winner and loser culture Film * ''The Winner'' (1926 film), an American silent film starring Billy Sullivan * ''The Winner'' ...

'' (2003) *'' Sringaram'' (2007) *''Vattapaarai'' (2012) *''

'' (2012) *'' Kumki'' (2012) *''

Aindhaam Thalaimurai Sidha Vaidhiya Sigamani ''Aindhaam Thalaimurai Sidha Vaidhiya Sigamani'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy film written and directed by L. G. Ravichandar. The film features Bharath, making it his 25th project as an actor and Nandita Swetha in the leading roles, ...

'' (2014) *''

Thunai Mudhalvar ''Thunai Mudhalvar'' is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language political satire film written by K. Bhagyaraj and directed by R. Vivekanandan. The film stars Jayaram in the lead roles while Shweta Menon, Bhagyaraj and Sandhya among others form an ensem ...

'' (2015) *''

'' (2015) *'' Puli'' (2015) *''

Om Shanthi Om ''Om Shanthi Om'' is a 2015 Tamil language supernatural drama film directed by D. Suryaprabhakar and produced by Arumai Chandran.The film stars Srikanth and Neelam Upadhyaya, while Vijay Ebenezer composes the film's music. The film released in O ...

'' (2015) *''

Sethu Boomi ''Sethu Boomi'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil drama film, written and directed by Kenthiran Muniasami. The film features Thaman Kumar and Samskruthy Shenoy in the lead roles, while Kenthiran Muniasami, Junior Balaiah and Singampuli in supporting role ...

'' (2016) *''Narai'' (2018) *'' Koothan'' (2018) *'' Nerkonda Parvai'' (2019) *'' Sanga thalaivan''(2021) Cameo as Retired school teacher and Communist hiding in forest *''

Maara ''Maara'' is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language adventure romantic drama film directed by Dhilip Kumar in his directorial debut, and produced by Prateek Chakravorty and Shruti Nallappa of Pramod Films. An adaptation of the 2015 Malayalam blockbus ...

'' (2021) *''

Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam ''Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam'' () is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Prabhu Jeyaram and starring R. S. Karthiik and Ayra. Produced by Passion Studios, it was released on SonyLIV 8 October 2021. Cast * R. S. Karthiik as JP ...

'' (2021)

Web series

* ''

Mugilan ''Mugilan'' is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language crime thriller miniseries, produced as an Original for ZEE5, written and directed by Sri Ram Ram and edited by Tamil Arasan. It stars Karthik Raj and Ramya Pandian in the main lead roles. The mini ...

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 Living people Male actors in Tamil cinema 21st-century Indian male actors Tamil comedians