Biography of Surya

“Surya” Sivakumar is popularly known as Surya, is an Indian actor in the Tamil film industry. He is well-known for his versatile roles in various films. Surya’s father is the renowned veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar. He is the eldest of three children – younger brother being the award-winning actor Karthik Sivakumar, and a younger sister named Brindha, who is married to an industrialist named Sivakumar. Surya went to the Prestigious St. Bede’s School in Chennai. He graduated from Loyola College with a B.Com and worked for a few years in the garment industry, before foraying into the film industry. Surya is married to Jyothika Saravanan on September 11, 2006, a popular Tamil actress. They were blessed with two children, a daughter on August 10, 2007, named Diya and after 3 years a son on June 7, 2010, named Dev. Career: His debut film, Nerrukku Ner (1997) with Vijay was a big hit but all his succeeding films did not do well. His first reasonable success was in the movie with Vijay, Friends. But he did not get any big breaks and his career seemed to be stalled until director Bala approached him for a role in his next venture titled Nandha. This was his first solo hit and Surya won his first filmfare award for best actor for this movie. Surya’s next venture was with Vikraman in the movie Unnai Ninathu and the movie was able to record good collections. This was followed by Mounam Pesiyadhe which also did decently well. Surya’s second blockbuster was Kaakha Kaakha, a movie about the life of a police officer. This movie raised the profile of Surya tremendously and made him a huge star overnight. This was also the movie that fueled intense speculation of his relationship with fellow co-star Jyothika. This was partly due to the strength of the screen chemistry shared by both of them on screen. Also Pithamagan alongside Vikram was a big hit, in which Surya was appreciated for playing a happy-go-lucky village guy and thus proving his skills as a comedian too. In the movie Perazhagan, Surya acted in two roles, one as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but a confident phone booth keeper. His role as the handicapped was praised by critics, and he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance. His role in Aayitha Ezhuthu as a student leader was also favoured by the critics. In 2005, Surya delivered more successful films in the form of Aaru and Ghajini – afterwards he set up a production company called Studio Green along with his cousin K.E.Gnavelraja. Ghajini was one of the most sensational hits of 2005, with Surya playing a short term memory loss patient, for which he even tonsured his head. The film was his third blockbuster and grossed over Rs.200 million at the box office. By then, trade began comparing him with long established actors like, Vikram next to Vijay and Ajith Surya’s 2006 release is Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his real-life partner Jyothika in the film. The film was an average grosser. In 2007, Surya’s solitary release was Vel, where he was paired with Asin Thottumkal.The film became a hit at the box-office. From here, he started doing movies for all A,B & C centre Audiences. In 2008, he appeared in Vaaranam Aayiram directed by Gautham Menon. He won several awards. Surya played dual roles, of a son and a father, ranging from 17 to 75 years. His next film Ayan in 2009 was directed by K. V. Anand, which went on become the highest grosser of that year in Tamil Nadu. He played the role of a smuggler. His next release was Aadhavan directed by K. S. Ravikumar. 2010, he had his 25th release with Singam, directed by Hari, in which he played the role of a police officer. He made his Bollywood debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s two-part political drama Rakta Charitra. He is currently working on A. R. Murugadoss’ 7aam Arivu and he performs a cameo role in Manmadhan Ambu and Avan Ivan which is yet to release. Suriya was named as the official host of the new game show to be presented on STAR Vijay, Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi, the Tamil version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which began airing on 27 February 2012 and ended on 12 July. His next film was Singam II, a sequel to his 2010 film Singam, that got released on July 5, 2013.  The film received positive response from critics and had a huge opening. Suriya was once again acclaimed for his portrayal of Durai Singam and his performance was hailed as “the film’s backbone”. At present, he has announced a project with Gautham Menon titled Dhruva Natchathiram and another film with director N. Lingusamy. Endorsements Suriya has been the ambassador for TVS Motor, Aircel and Sunfeast since 2006. He has endorsed Saravana Stores, Bharathi Cements and Emami 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. As of 2012, Suriya had endorsed the leading jewellery group, Malabar Gold.   Other Works   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?. 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.  Suriya, along with his father and brother, has also extended help towards the education of Sri Lankan Tamil children on behalf of the Sivakumar Charitable Trust. 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. The actor celebrates every birthday by doing charity work across Tamil Nadu.