Suriya (
Tamil:
சூர்யா; born 23 July 1975 as
Saravanan Sivakumar) is an Indian
film actor,
producer, philanthropist and
television presenter. He has acted in several
Tamil films, including the commercially successful films
Nandha (2001),
Kaakha Kaakha (2003),
Pithamagan (2003),
Perazhagan (2004),
Ghajini (2005),
Vel (2007) ,
Vaaranam Aayiram (2008),
Ayan (2009),
Singam (2010) and
7aum Arivu (2011). As of 2010,
he has won three
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three
Filmfare Awards, establishing himself as one of the leading contemporary actors in the
Tamil film industry.
He became a film distributor after opening
Studio Green, which was responsible for producing and distributed a few of his own and his brother
Karthi's films. He is the eldest son of actor
Sivakumar and married actress
Jyothika in 2006, after being engaged for several years. In 2008, he began Agaram Foundation, which funds for preventing early childhood drop-outs.
As of 2012, Suriya is the host of the
STAR Vijay game show
Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi.
Early life
Suriya was born to actor
Sivakumar and Lakshmi in
Chennai. He is the eldest of three children, his younger brother is actor
Karthi and he has a younger sister named Brindha Sivakumar. He attended
Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan School
and
St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Chennai
and obtained his under graduate degree
B.Com from
Loyola College, Chennai.
Career
Early career: 1996–2002
Suriya debuted in the 1996 film
Nerrukku Ner directed by
Vasanth and produced by
Mani Ratnam.
In 2001, he starred in
Siddique's comedy film
Friends.
His major break came in the form of
Nandha, which was directed by
Bala. Playing the role of an ex-convict who is very attached to his mother, he received a
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.
His next venture was Vikraman's
Unnai Ninaithu, which was followed by
Mounam Pesiyadhe directed by
Ameer Sultan.
Breakthrough: 2003–07
In 2003, he starred in the
Gautham Menon-directed
Kaakha Kaakha, a film about the life of a police officer. He then starred in his second
Bala directorial,
Pithamagan, along with
Vikram, portraying a happy-go-lucky village crook with a comic touch, for which he received a
Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Since he was shooting for these two films in 2003, he had to turn down a lead role in
Autograph, which eventually was played by its director
Cheran himself.
In 2004 he received a
Filmfare Award for Best Actor for playing two roles in
Perazhagan: an aggressive boxer and a handicapped phone booth keeper became successful venture in box-office. Later that year, he starred in
Mani Ratnam's political drama
Aayutha Ezhuthu, which was based on
George Reddy, a student leader in Hyderabad during the late 60s and early 80s.
In 2005, he appeared in
Ghajini and then in
Aaru. He played the role of a patient suffering from short-term memory loss in the former. Due to his commitment to
Ghajini, he was said to have missed a role in the Bollywood film
Rang De Basanti.
In 2006, he acted with
Jyothika and
Bhoomika in
N. Krishna's film
Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. In 2007, his only release was
Vel, which released for Diwali.
Vaaranam Aayiram and Bollywood: 2008–2011
His next release was a collaboration with
Gautham Menon, after the success of
Kaakha Kaakha, Suriya began work on Menon's biopic
Vaaranam Aayiram in November 2008.
Playing dual roles for the third time in his career, Suriya appeared as father and son, with both characters also demanding scenes shot throughout their lives ranging from scenes as a 16-year-old to scenes as a 65-year-old. During the production of the film, Suriya described the project as "unique" and "straight from the heart", describing the physical hardships he endured during the making.
He lost weight and prepared a
six pack for the film through an eight-month fitness regime without steroids, with the move being a trend-setter for other leading actors from South India.
[13][14] The film, which also featured
Simran,
Sameera Reddy and
Divya Spandana in prominent roles, became commercially successful at the box office upon release as well as receiving positive reviews from film critics, with Suriya's performance being lauded. A critic from
Rediff labelled the film as his "magnum opus", citing that he is "perfect" and that the film for him is a "justified triumph".
Similarly, critics cited Suriya's performance as "outstanding" and claimed that the film "works because of his performance", whilst other reviewers claimed the film was an "out and out Suriya show".
His portrayals also fetched him several notable awards, including the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor, a
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor by the jury and also the
Vijay Award for Best Actor for 2008.
The film also went on to receive a
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2008.
In 2009, Suriya's first release was
K. V. Anand's action-thriller
Ayan, which went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film of the year. With Suriya portraying the role of a smuggler, the film also featured
Prabhu as his guardian and
Tamannaah Bhatia as the lead actress. The film was shot extensively across
Tanzania,
Namibia,
Malaysia and
India and featured
parkour stunts by Suriya, without the use of a stunt double.
Upon release, the film won positive reviews citing that the film was a "must watch" and Suriya's performance was yet again acclaimed and he found himself nominated for leading awards and won the
Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year.
The film's success saw Suriya emerge as the most profitable leading actor in Tamil films, following a hat trick of large commercial hits, with film journals suggesting that his success was due to "experiments within the commercial format" and he was successful in "avoiding being typecast".
His next release was
Aadhavan directed by
K. S. Ravikumar. In 2010, he had his 25th release with
Singam, directed by
Hari, in which he played the role of a police officer from a small village. The film went on to become the second highest grossing film of the year.
He made his
Bollywood debut in
Ram Gopal Varma's two-part political drama
Rakta Charitra in 2010, following which he appeared in cameo roles as himself in the films
Manmadhan Ambu (2010) and
Avan Ivan (2011). His only release in 2011 that featured him in a starring role was
A. R. Murugadoss's science fiction thriller
7aum Arivu. Suriya essayed dual roles in the film, as a circus artist and as the Buddhist monk named
Bodhidharma, who lived in the 5th century. The film met with mixed reception, but Suriya's performance was praised.
7aum Arivu became the actor's highest grosser, and subsequently among the top grossing films of the year.
Entry in television: 2012–present
In January 2012, Suriya was named as the official host of the new
game show to be presented on
STAR Vijay,
Neengalum Vellalaam Oru Kodi, the Tamil version of
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which began airing on 27 February 2012.
His next project is
Maatraan, which sees him collaborate with
K. V. Anand again, after
Ayan.
Brand ambassador
Suriya has been the ambassador for many famous enterprises including
TVS,
Aircel and Sunfeast Biscuits since 2006. He has endorsed
Saravana Stores,
Bharathi Cements and Navaratna products since 2010.
In 2011, he had signed a new deal with
Nescafé, Zandu Balm and more recently with Close-Up toothpaste brand as of May 2011.
Philanthropy
In 2008, Suriya began the Agaram Foundation,
working to help children who drop out of school early in
Tamil Nadu. With the Ministry of Education in Tamil Nadu, he created a short commercial video outlining child poverty, labour and lack of education, titled
Herova? Zerova? [31]. The film was written and produced by Sivakumar and also starred
Joseph Vijay,
R. Madhavan and
Jyothika. Agaram has sponsored 159 underprevileged students in 2010 for their higher education in various disciplines. With the firm belief that the educated mind can not only eliminate social evils but also aid in the socio-economic upbringing of society, Agaram Foundation works towards providing appropriate learning opportunities to the rural populace who do not otherwise have access to quality education.
He is also an active participant in other philanthropic works such as "Save The Tigers" campaign, which aids in the protection and preservation of Tigers in India, and "REACH", a non-profit that cures TB patients for free using supervised medication programs.
Personal life
After several years of being engaged, Suriya married actress
Jyothika on 11 September 2006,
with whom he was paired in seven films;
Poovellam Kettuppar,
Uyirile Kalanthathu,
Kaakha Kaakha,
Perazhagan,
Maayavi,
June R and
Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. The couple have two children, daughter Diya (born in August 2007 )
and son Dev (born in June 2010).
Filmography
Ruler can do anything, so Born to rule the Galaxy
Statue of Dheeran Chinnamalai at ChennaiHe was one of the main leaders in the Polygar Wars and commanded a vast army, notably during the Second Polygar War that took place in 1801–1802. A thousand-strong army under him took French Military training in modern warfare alongside Tipu's Mysore forces to fight against the British East India company. They helped Tipu Sultan in his war against the British and were instrumental in victories at Chitheswaram, Mazahavalli and Srirangapatna.
