A heart-to-heart chat with Suriya!
In a heart-to-heart chat with Only Kollywood, Suriya talks about his ambitious forthcoming release 24, striking a balance between an actor and a star, straddling the world of producer for big & low-budget films, his never-ending appetite for good content and the uncivilized fan wars on social media.
“I’m not a creator like Kamal sir“
Billed as a science fiction, time-travel thriller, Suriya’s 24 has already piqued the curiosity of movie-goers with its intriguing teaser, trailer and short promo videos. 24 came to fruition
when Suriya wanted to hear something little exciting and Vikram Kumar presented a story which he has been yearning to give wings to. “I have a lot of respect for Vikram Kumar and his craft. If you take into account his previous films, it’s clear that he has never stuck into one genre. I have very limited choices as an actor. I’m not a creator like Kamal sir. I can’t create stories for my films. I also don’t prefer doing a remake just because it has good content. Remakes will not be my first choice too,” Suriya said.
“A big-budget film made on a big canvas with a varied genre is a rarity in Tamil”
Suriya feels that he comes across a premise like ‘24’ only once in three years due to lack of producers who would bet experimenting with a content-oriented movie on a big scale. “Hindi actors have the luxury to be a part of good projects since a lot of exciting directors from across the country make films in Bollywood including AR Murugadoss sir. Tamil actors don’t have too many choices. We do get interesting content from Malayalam filmmakers. Even Tamil directors are coming up with path-breaking films, but it’s confined to low-budget ventures. A big-budget film made on a big canvas with a varied genre is a rarity in Tamil. I’m not trying to hard sell ‘24’ as an accomplished project that can only be done by me. But, it’s really nice of Vikram Kumar to put together something like this.”
“I didn’t want ‘24’ to be ‘a just another big budget’ project. We wanted to give audiences a unique movie-watching experience. When we set out to make that one film which stands out from others, I had little confidence. But with the help of my team, I decided to bankroll the project to make it look a little different. 24 is a special film for all of us,” Suriya added.
Aathreya is an author-backed role
Speaking at the audio launch of 24 in Hyderabad, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, who plays Suriya’s love-interest in the film, said 24 is a complete Suriya film. When quizzed him about this, he said, “I wouldn’t say 24 is a complete Suriya film. I would like to call it ‘a Vikram Kumar film’. It’s his baby. It’s been in his mind for six years. He even started the film but it didn’t take off. He still wanted to tell this story. So, nobody can overshadow a good story. His writing had everything. Aathreya is an author-backed role and he had detailed it really well. For the role of ‘Mani’, I had to be at my best. I wanted to be very young in my mind. It’s a charming character and I wanted to connect with my director. There are days when I had to juggle between two roles. So, ‘Mani’ character too demanded some effort to pull it off.”
“Kamal Sir never complained about shortage of good content”
“Everyone wants to do memorable films. Something unique the audience will remember them for. Kamal sir films have always been an inspiration. I look up to his work every time I plan to do something. He’s created lot of different content, continued doing different projects and even worked with other language filmmakers. Kamal sir never complained about shortage of good content. He has always set the bar high. Movie-making is all about creating memories and creating happiness,” said Suriya when asked about the inspiration behind 
his never-ending appetite for good content.
“My attempts will always be sincere”
Despite some big-budget films like Maattraan and Ezhaam Arivu bit the dust at the box office and were not received well by audiences, Suriya feels proud that he was part of a team which worked hard to present something fresh to the audience. “Entertainers, hit films, good films all differ from each other. Every hit film need not be a good film. In that sense, I feel bad that I’m restricting myself. I’m not delivering as much as I want to. But, ‘24’ is a kind of film I’ll never get tired of doing. Take Maattraan or Ezhaam Arivu. I might not have hit the bull’s eye but the content was fresh. No one knew about Bodhi Dharman. No one made films on conjoined twins until then and we used different technologies to pull it off. So, my attempts will always be sincere.”
Striking a balance between an actor and a star
“There are times when I used to think that I’m being a little cut-throat and expect too much. So, sometimes I would just like to trust somebody and go to the sets. I used to think I should relax a bit and do freewheeling roles too. But those films have not completely satisfied my well-wishers. So, I think I should hunt for projects with different concepts within the commercial space. But, I will definitely strike a balance. Every time, it will not be for the sake of doing complex films. It will be genuine. Like ’36 Vayadhinile’ and ‘Pasanga 2’, I would also do simple films that have not been experienced in the recent past,” Suriya said.
Prod him on a little more, he comes up with this brilliant response. “I don’t understand this star-actor difference. It’s just entertainment. If you view it from an actor’s perspective alone, sometimes you are bound to become selfish. Being simply a star may land you in mindless choices.”
“As an actor, I have invested my time and energy but not my property or money like a producer”
Suriya is least bothered about risks involved in production and distribution as far as he is satisfied with the content. And, he puts it across lucidly too. “I have never bothered about money. I also have my salary to let go. If I lose my remuneration for this film, I can always earn it for my next film. I need not ‘borrow’ money to fund projects. If you are a producer, you need to invest the profit of one film to bankroll a project. As an actor, I only see profits. It’s not like I ‘invested’. I have invested my time and energy but not my property or money. So, whatever comes to me as an actor is profit. So, letting go of it is fine as far as I’m producing good, unique content.
The burning issue of fan wars and uncivilized trolling on social media platforms
“Fan wars have always been there. It’s not like it started just now. See, I don’t have control over it. Sometimes, I feel bad for them,” Suriya said.
After a pause, he has a message for his fans.
Everyone has just 24 hours in a day. We all want to achieve something in life. Before you become 25, set a goal for yourselves and try to achieve something. Become what you want to be. There’s a world of opportunities and possibilities out there. Don’t devote your time and energy for something as useless as fan wars. You won’t get back this precious time. I’m not sure how many of you will really keep these words in mind. You have a family and future to take care of. You all can use this time potentially to become something good. A bad thought is like a single white hair in your head. It’s a negativity which will always stay. It’s definitely not needed
“My friendship with Vijay is still intact”
Suriya gives an example of how the actors and actresses are good friends off screen. “Yes, my friendship with Vijay is still intact. Sangeetha, Shalini and Jo (Jyothika) too interact with each other a lot. Lastly, we gathered for Vijay’s 40th birthday. Whenever I like his film, I always send a text. We still have our college groups active to keep in touch with each 
other. It was nice of him to come for my 40th birthday too.”
On doing multi-starrers
“A story should always be the hero. We should not do multi-starrers just for the sake of it. If I get good content, I will definitely do. I should feel that I shouldn’t let go of this film.”
Singham 3 has imbibed the best of both parts
“Hari sir is enjoying. It’s the same team. We have become a family now. We are trying to make it little sharp and interesting. The first part had generous dose of sentiments like the personal side of a police officer and his familial emotions. It was more rooted. But, the second part was more like a race with lots of chases and action. Singham 3 has imbibed the best of both parts,” Suriya said.
Suriya also confirmed that he is still in talks with Telugu filmmaker Trivikram for a possible future collaboration. “We have to look into a lot of things before starting a project including logistics and stuff. We are still in talks though. We just have to lock a date and say, ‘let’s start’.”
Suriya will be announcing something on Jyothika’s next project towards the end of May.
Interviewed by Surendhar MK
