Junior Balaiah

Some Lesser Known Facts About Junior Balaiah

• Junior Balaiah was an Indian actor who appeared majorly in Tamil films. He was famous for being the son of actor T. S. Balaiah. Over 40 years of his career, he appeared primarily in supporting roles. He has also acted as a comedian and villain in various Tamil films. He died on 2 November 2023 due to a heart attack at his residence in Chennai.

• Balaiah’s father died in 1972, three days before his first film as an actor was released. The film titled Suttaan Sutten which M. R. Radha directed featured Balaiah as Radha’s son. The film also featured Balaiah’s father, but after he died, the shooting was stopped.

• He appeared in many films but was unable to match the success of his father.

• He took out many loans, and because of this, he became bankrupt. He started practising Christianity and set up a healing centre called Healing Stripes Ministry.

• Some of his popular films include Karagattakaran (1989), Sundara Kandam (1992), Cheran Chozhan Pandian (1998), Aindhaam Thalaimurai Sidha Vaidhiya Sigamani (2014), and Nerkonda Parvai (2019). The film Nerkonda Paarvai was the Tamil remake of the Bollywood film Pink (2016).

  

• Apart from movies, Balaiah also worked in TV shows like Vazhkai (2000-2001) as Prabhakar’s father and Chinna Papa Periya Papa (2014) Season 1 as Masanam.

  

• In 2014, Balaiah announced his plan to start a film production company to give his son a chance to become an actor.

• Balaiah was an active participant in the activities of the Nadigar Sangam (South Indian Artistes Association).

• On 2 November 2023, Balaiah passed away at his residence in Chennai due to a heart attack. He later suffered asphyxiation.