Suriya gifts RJ Balaji a swanky new SUV amid Karuppu success after the latter faced backlash over film's casting

Suriya with RJ Balaji. Pic via Instagram

Tamil star Suriya is currently basking in the success of his recent film, Karuppu. Earlier, the star gifted Mahindra BE6 Batman edition cars to cinematographer GK Vishnu, editor R Kalaivanan, and music composer Sai Abhyankkar. Now, he has now gifted a brand-new SUV to RJ Balaji.

Suriya gifts RJ Balaji a new car amid Karuppu success

On Friday, Balaji shared pictures and videos of himself with Suriya on Instagram, in which he drove the actor-filmmaker around town in the swanky new car. The pictures also show them both hugging and posing together. In the video, Suriya is seen driving Balaji around town. The car's interior seems to still be covered in plastic as an excited Balaji explores the features of the swanky car. He later tells Suriya, "Wow, so nice, sir. I like this. Thank you so much."

Sharing the pictures, Balaji wrote, "And this is Us…! (red heart emojis) From day ONE, you believed in me. That ONE trust, turned a dream into reality, That ONE support, became the beginning of a new journey in my life. Booooooooom…. Karuppu happened…! (heart on fire emojis)." The filmmaker-actor had recently faced Suriya's fans' wrath after he revealed Karuppu was initially intended for Vijay and had credited him for ‘starting it all'.

He further added, "What started as a promise I made to you became a reality as this mega blockbuster….!!! None of this would have been possible without the ONE and ONLY actorsuriya sir !!! (folded hands emojis) You've changed my life forever, love you sir (red heart emojis) Thank you for the trust, respect and most importantly this beautiful relationship that I will cherish forever…! (evil eye emojis)."

RJ Balaji slammed for saying Vijay was the first choice for Karuppu

Notably, RJ Balaji faced backlash from Suriya fans for saying that he initially approached Vijay for Karuppu. During an interview with THR India, Balaji admitted that the film was pitched to be Vijay's final film. "I felt his reasons were justified. I told him, ‘Sir, I absolutely respect your decision. Thank you so much.' By then, I had already narrated two stories to him after he asked me if I had something suitable. I considered that itself a huge sign of respect for my work and creativity," he said.

Later, when he met the TN CM and actor, he wrote on X, "With the man who started it all for Karuppu !!! Wow…! Feels unreal to meet him now as the honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu!!! Same love, warmth, kindness and calmness…!!! Thank you for everything, dearest Vijay sir."

This did not go well with Suriya's fans, who said that the filmmaker was giving credit to Vijay for the success of Karuppu over his lead actor.