Suresh Gopi

When Suresh Gopi won Thrissur in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he became Kerala's first BJP member in the Lok Sabha. Since June 2024 he has been Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and for Tourism. Before that, he served in the Rajya Sabha as a nominated member between 2016 and 2022, and since September 2023 he has also headed the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute as its President. Cinema came first. Born in Alappuzha district to K. Gopinathan Pillai, who distributed films, and V. Gnanalekshmi Amma, he was raised in Kollam and studied at Infant Jesus Anglo-Indian School there. He first appeared on screen as a child in Odayil Ninnu (1965), and his adult acting career started with Niramulla Raavukal (1986). The actor, playback singer and TV host has over 250 films to his name, mostly in Malayalam, along with some in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. His Malayalam films include Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha, Ekalavyan, Manichitrathazhu and Commissioner. Kaliyattam won him the Best Actor honour at both the National Film Awards and the Kerala State Film Awards.