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It's
not surprising to see a Kamal's
movie creating such roars among
all segments of audience, ranging
from harsh critics to cinema
frontbenchers. He rightly deserves
and so, this article is not
to decry that in any way. But
there is one actor who has been
consistently defying all documented
success formulas and spinning
out hit after hit with sheer
acting skills and charm that
was acknowledged by legendary
Kamal Haasan himself at one
of the recent award ceremonies.
Director Bala showed us a rare
pearl called “Suriya”
for the first time in “Nandha”
and he has not looked back since
then. There is no doubt that
many of us have recognized this
fact but my effort here is to
articulate it. Here is an attempt
to glorify some of his gems
so far (in the chronological
order):
Suriya displayed some serious
acting skills in “Nandha”
that unearthed immense potential
in him and showed a lot of promise
to other filmmakers in the industry
though it did not take him to
stardom, which is typical in
any Bala movie lacking commercial
elements with the exception
of “Sethu”. In this
movie, he was belligerent as
a goon, loyal to his master
and loving to his mother.
He teamed with Gautham
Menon for “Kaakha Kaakha”
and both of them created nothing
less than a sensation. It even
made Rajinikanth come out and
shower praises on Suriya for
living as Anbuchelvan in the
movie. His body language was
immaculate as a no-nonsense
cop and a reluctant but sincere
lover. For the first time in
Suriya's career, all the songs
in his movie were chartbusters,
thanks to Harris. This was also
the movie that took Suriya to
stardom putting him on par with
Vikram at that time.
Suriya joined hands with Bala
for the second time in “Pithamagan”
not as a hero but as a prominent
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fiddle. For the first time, he was in a
character that demanded qualities that was
unlike his own nature. Vikram’s stunning
performance might have overshadowed the
rest of the cast but Suriya’s performance
was nothing short of great and memorable.
It
was a natural progression for Suriya to
star in a Mani Ratnam movie after all the
hard work and there couldn't have been a
better opportunity than “Ayudha Ezhuthu”.
As the central character, he brought life
to the partly true story that the movie
was based upon. The wily looks at a nefarious
politician, naughty gestures with a girl
next door, witty exchange of words with
a goon and a determined ambition as a student
to serve the country made even the critics
(esp Madan) to sit up and take notice at
one of the rapidly rising stars.
There are very few films that create a huge
sensation among all types of audience and
“Ghajini” surely is one of those
trendsetters. To portray a memory loss patient
not only requires top class acting but also
complete dedication and deep study of the
subject. Having achieved this, Suriya did
the other role of a dapper young man with
utmost ease giving a new dimension to the
youthful but a responsible character. The
fresh and lovable chemistry with Asin and
the perfection as a businessman combined
with the psychological challenges as a patient
made even Aamir Khan declare that he was
partly inspired by Suriya to do the movie
in Hindi.
Gautham roped in Suriya for his most favorite
film “Vaaranam Aayiram” because
he not only had the confidence in Suriya
but also opined that nobody else could have
done it for him. Gautham had to realize
later that he got not only what he wanted
but a lot more than he could have ever imagined
from Suriya. Not many have dared to play
all the characters from three different
generations with sheer brilliance and relentless
hard work. A bubbly student, passionate
lover, grieving boyfriend, confused youth,
resolved commando, loving husband, worried
father and the list continues for the number
of different characters played by Suriya
in this movie.
Suriya is not only a highly skilled
and a versatile actor but also an intelligent
professional in the way he chooses his films.
A glance at the hits in the last two years
suggests that nobody else has given more
hits than Suriya. “Ayan” did
not have the potential for Suriya to display
great acting skills set by his own high
standards but it turned out to be the first
blockbuster of 2009. There is no denying
that we are witnessing a legend in the making
and we must also be glad to have finally
found a shadow of a future Kamal Hassan
who has the charm, the aura and the genius
to step into the actors’ hall of fame
one day.
shyam sundar
a_shyam41@yahoo.co.uk
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