S. J. Suryah

Hotel jobs kept S. J. Suryah going in Chennai while he waited for a chance to act. Born Selvaraj Justin Pandian on 20 July 1968 in Vasudevanallur, in present-day Tenkasi district, he had come to the city to study physics at Loyola College and stayed on. He apprenticed with K. Bhagyaraj, then assisted Vasanth on Aasai (1995) and Sabapathy on Sundara Purushan (1996), picking up uncredited bit parts along the way. Today he acts, directs, produces, writes and sings playback, mostly in Tamil cinema. Ajith Kumar heard his script for Vaalee and helped bring a producer on board; the 1999 thriller was a hit and launched Suryah as a director. Kushi (2000) came next, and New (2004) was his debut as actor as well as director, followed by Anbe Aaruyire and Isai. He acted in Kalvanin Kadhali, Thirumagan and Vyabari, and over the past decade antagonists have become his territory, in Spyder, Mersal, Maanaadu, Don, Mark Antony, Indian 2, Raayan, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, Game Changer and Veera Dheera Sooran. Kadamaiyai Sei and Jigarthanda DoubleX gave him the lead. His 2026 work includes Love Insurance Kompany, Sardar 2 and Jailer 2, in which he plays Bodhi Kalpak alongside Rajinikanth.