Suriya turns 47. Actor-producer Suriya, who turned 47 today, has sort of developed the Midas touch in the past two years. It seems everything that he touches is turning into gold. And it all began with Suriya braving the opposition from the industry and doing something completely unexpected by releasing his big-budget film, which was aptly titled, Soorarai Pottru (celebrate the brave), on an OTT platform.
Soorarai Pottru was made for the big screen experience and the makers were looking forward to releasing the movie in cinemas in November of 2020. And the pandemic happened, bringing the whole world to a standstill. Suriya, who was also the producer of the movie, took the brave decision of making the film directly available for streaming, considering the pandemic across the world was out of control and nobody had a clue when the semblance of normality would return to our lives.
He faced resistance from stakeholders in the box office business. The association of Tamil Nadu theatre owners even threatened him with a ban. The association claimed that they won’t allow the screening of Suriya-starrers and those films he produced under his home banner 2D Entertainment, in future, should he go ahead with the direct OTT release of Soorarai Pottru. But, Suriya didn’t budge.
In a way, Soorarai Pottru provided a much-needed break to people across the country during the gloomy days of lockdown. Filmmaker Sudha Kongara developed this film based on the memoir Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey. The memoir was written by G. R. Gopinath who had revolutionized the Indian commercial aviation sector by introducing low-cost air tickets for the working class.
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Suriya’s screen presence as the strong-willed Maaran was such that it was hard to take our eyes off of him. He even underwent a serious body transformation to briefly play the younger version of his character. His dedication and devotion to his craft were visible in every frame. And as expected, he won his first ever National Film Award for Best Actor in the recently announced 68th National Film Awards.
Suriya in Soorarai Pottru (Photo: Amazon Prime Video) Not just that, Soorarai Pottru also bagged top honours at the awards, including Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Background Score. This film was a huge gamble for Suriya on several counts. But, he believed in the film and took his chances under extraordinary circumstances, only to emerge victorious on the other side.
After Soorarai Pottru, Suriya again surprised everyone with his next bold move. He did Jai Bhim. Director T. J. Gnanavel had pitched the film to Suriya as a project that he could bankroll. But, the director was taken aback when Suriya expressed his desire to play the role of advocate Chandru in the movie. The main character of the film was not a glamorous one and wasn’t overtly heroic, say, like Singam. The movie was inspired by one of the real court cases that was handled by retired Justice K Chandru, when he was an advocate at the Madras High Court.
Chandru is not the kind of hero who solves problems through a fist fight. He knocks on the door of courts and hits the road in protest over every social issue. He doesn’t deliver punchlines, except for the legal points during the cross-examination in courts. He travels on public transport and rides general class on trains. And yet, his character is nothing short of a cape-wearing superhero for members of weaker sections. Again, Suriya’s brave move paid off as Jai Bhim dominated the pop cultural discourse for most of 2021.
With bouquets for Jai Bhim also came a few brickbats. The members of Vanniyar Sangam were up in arms against the film for allegedly showing their community in a poor light. Gnanavel even acknowledged the oversight on his part and issued an apology. But, the issue was not resolved. A High Court case has been made out of the issue. Recently, the Madras High Court granted interim protection for Suriya and Gnanavel from arrest in the case.
Suriya in Jai Bhim. Jai Bhim also made a lot of buzz at the Academy Awards earlier this year.
After a gap of three years, Suriya returned to the big screen with director Pandiraj’s Etharkkum Thunindhavan. The film was a rush job, which was loosely based on the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case. The movie was a critical dud, even though it is said to have become a hit at the box office.
What Suriya failed to do in a full-fledged role in Etharkkum Thunindhavan, he did it in an approx 3-minute appearance in Vikram. Suriya had set the screen on fire with his performance as a ruthless head of a drug syndicate. It won’t be wrong to say that Suriya’s Rolex stole the thunder from talents like Kamal Haasan, Fahadh Faasil, Vijay Sethupathi in the movie.
Suriya in a still from Vikram. Rolex was a total shock to the audience, who have grown accustomed to Suriya’s image as an exemplary citizen, both on and off-screen. Even when he played a seasoned rowdy in Hari’s Aaru, his moral compass was intact. But, Rolex is a pure monster. He chops a man’s head off with a swing of his cleaver just to set an example for those who work under him.
It remains to be seen what surprises Suriya has in store for us in 2023.
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