From Nandha to Maara: Top 7 movies that defined 'Soorari Pottru' actor Suriya's career

Actor Suriya Sivakumar who was going through a tough phase in his career has made a comeback with the release of his film 'Soorari Pootru' helmed by Sudha Kongara. The film has opened to a tremendous response from his fans. 

Suriya undoubtedly one of the finest actors in the Kollywood industry, being from a cinema background it goes unsaid that acting runs in his blood. 

He is one such actor who is known to give it all to his films and is a person who is loved by his fans for his simplicity and his charm. From being a badass cop to an army officer, a romantic star to a  comic actor, the actor has nailed every role with perfection.

Let's take a look at some of his most iconic roles over the years: 

Nandha

This film directed by Bala is the turning point in the actor's career. Following a dark plot like many of Bala's films, The plot revolves around Nandha (Suriya) who returns from a rehabilitation center and returns to his family. He meets Periyavar (Rajkiran) and starts to idolize him. The major highlight of the film is its disturbing climax that makes the audience emotional. The film opened to a tremendous response from the fans, and Suriya was seen as a performer from this film. Suriya's performance in Nandha won him both critical acclaim and commercial success when it released in 2001.

Khaka Khaka ( The Badass Cop)

This film stays as one of Suriya's best performances where he plays the role of Anbuselvan a tough cop who is part of a special task force to nab the villain Pandia (Jeevan). Things change when Anbuselvan meets Maya (Jyothika), who's a school teacher. 'Kaakha Kaakha' still manages to put a smile on the faces of the fans due to its action-packed storyline and ita gripping screenplay, followed by some of the evergreen songs composed by Harris Jayaraj. 'Kaakha Kaakha' turned out to be a blockbuster at the box-office.

In fact, the film is said to be a turning point in the career of both GVM and Suriya, who received their first major commercial success. Khaka Khaka had forever changed the cop story film in Tamil Cinema and it was after this film that actor Kamal Haasan had requested Gautham Menon to direct a film with Kamal playing the lead role as a cop, It did happen in 2008 with Vettaiyadu Vellaiyadu.

Pitamagan ( The Con Man)

After the massive success of Nandha director, Bala roped in Suriya and Vikram in 2003 for Pithamagan which stands as a landmark for Tamil Cinema as it an emotionally draining film about two friends Chithan (Vikram), a socially outcast person, and Sakthi (Suriya), a conman, and how the lives of these two change after a series of events, Sakthi's performance made the audience laugh out loud with his con skills.

Though Vikram's performance was highly lauded by critics, Suriya easily swayed the audiences with his effortless performance. 'Pithamagan' became a profitable venture at the box-office and was remade in several languages., 'Pithamagan' is often regarded as Suriya's best performance to date.

Ghajini ( The Charming action star )

Suriya was in the peak of his career in the early 2000s and as a performer wanted to experiment with the many forms of cinema and do a wide variety of roles. He went on to collaborate with AR Murugadoss for 'Ghajini', in which he played a character called Sanjay Ramasamy, a patient who is suffering from short term memory loss, and also who seeks revenge for his girlfriend's murder. Inspired by the Hollywood film 'Memento', the film became a sensational hit at the box-office.

Suriya had two different looks in the film and the actor aced in the diametrically opposite shades. Suriya's hairstyle in the film became a rage among youngsters and it became a trendsetter among audiences. The Hairstyle was called the Sanjay Ramaswamy style. The film was a huge blockbuster upon the release and even the dubbed version scored big in Telugu and also was remade in Hindi in 2008 with Aamir Khan in the lead role.

Varanam Aayiram ( The Father-Son Duo )

Following the massive success of 'Kaakha Kaakha', Suriya and Gautham Menon collaborated once again for 'Vaaranam Aayiram', a romantic-drama, which became a money-spinner at the box-office. The film follows the emotional bond between a father and son that showcases several important phases in their lives. Suriya's performance was appreciated by all fans as he had played the role of a 16-year-old boy in the film.

Also, this film showcases the life of someone from their teenage to a grown-up man with multiple physical and mental transformation. Vaaranam Aayiram' had won the National Award for Best Film that year, Apart from the story and performances, the songs composed by Harris Jayaraj were a huge hit,

The Singam Franchise ( Suriya's own Cop Universe)

Talking about the whole 'Singam' Franchise helmed by Hari, this is one of Suriya's most loved and sought-after roles. The Handlebar moustache cop became a favourite among fans and after the first part, the film also had sequels which were blockbusters upon its release.

This character is one of the most remembered and the most loved Cop character in the entire south industry.

24 ( The Scientist, Mechanic, and the Evil Twin)

Even though 24 wasn't a huge blockbuster the film was a showreel of Suriya who played 3 roles in the film. The performance of the actor was enjoyable as the watch mechanic Manikandan, as the scientist Sethuraman and deadly as the ambitious and selfish Twin Athreya.

The film is a little way ahead of its time and confused the audiences at the time of the release due to the less explored time travel concept but the critics raved Suriya's arresting performance. The performance of Suriya as Athreya became a fan favourite and was slated as one of the villains of that time.