Surya Sivakumar

Saravanan "Surya" Sivakumar (Tamil:born as சரவணன் screen name சூர்யா சிவகுமார்) (born July 23, 1975) is an award- winning Tamil film actor, and also a dubbing artist. Son of actor Sivakumar, he starred in several films, such as Nandha, Kaakha Kaakha, Ghajini, Perazhagan, Pithamagan, Vaaranam Aayiram and Ayan. As of 2009,^[1] he has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. He became a film distributor after opening Studio Green, which distributed several of his earlier films. He married actress Jyothika Saravanan in 2006, after being engaged for several years. In 2008, he began Agaram Foundation, which funds for preventing early childhood drop-outs.^[2]

Early life

Surya Sivakumar was born to actor Sivakumar and his wife Lakshmi on July 23, 1975. He was born in Chennai, but brought up in Coimbatore. He is the eldest of three children, his younger brother is actor Karthik Sivakumar and he has a younger sister named Brindha Sivakumar.

He attended Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan School^[3] and St. Bede's School in Chennai^[4] and graduated from Loyola College with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He was running his garment business at Tiruppur before entering the film industry.

Career

Initial Career (1997 - 2002)

Surya Sivakumar debuted in the 1997 film Nerrukku Ner directed by Vasanth along with Joseph Vijay. This film produced by Mani Ratnam was a hit. Later he starred in movies which did not do well. In 2001 he again starred with Joseph Vijay in a Malayalam remake Friends directed by Siddique and Nandha by Bala for which he received a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor. Nandha was one of Surya's most important films as it established him as an actor and changed his views on cinema as a career. Surya's next venture was Vikraman's Unnai Ninaithu which was followed by Mounam Pesiyadhe. Both films did well and Surya's performance was appreciated.

Success (2003 - 2007)

In 2003 he did Kaaka Kaaka; a movie about the life of a police officer, it grossed almost Rs. 150 million at the box office. It was Surya's biggest hit at that time and made him a successful solo actor. This movie also stirred some gossip about Surya and Jyothika's love affair. Then he did Pithamagan by Bala along with Vikram. In this movie Surya played a happy-go-lucky village crook with a comic touch, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. In 2004 he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for playing two roles in Perazhagan; one was as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but confident phone booth keeper. He then did Aayutha Ezhuthu which was based on George Reddy, a student leader in Hyderabad during the 80's. This film was directed by Mani Ratnam

In 2005, he appeared in Aaru and then in Memento-inspired Ghajini. In this movie he played a patient suffering from short term memory loss. This movie was a blockbuster at the box office and then on he was compared with Vijay and Ajith Kumar in trade. He then set up a production company called Studio Green which distributed the movie in the Chennai district. Surya's 2006 release was N. Krishna's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his wife Jyothika Saravanan in the film. This movie did not do well at the box office. In 2007, Surya's solitary release was Vel and it did well at the box office.

Vaaranam Aayiram and The Future

In 2008, he appeared in Vaaranam Aayiram, another venture with Gautham Menon which released on November 14, 2008. This movie was a huge blockbuster at the box office. Surya's performance was highly praised and was rated to be his best performance. He won a Filmfare Award for Best Actor, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor and Vijay Award for Best Actor.

Surya's next film Ayan in 2009 was directed by K. V. Anand and released on April 3, 2009 and was a huge box office blockbuster. Following the success of Ayan, Surya starred in Aadhavan directed by K. S. Ravikumar which was released worldwide on October 17, 2009. He is now acting in his 25th film, Singam, directed by Hari. He will make his Hindi movie debut in Rakta Charitra, which is being directed by Ram Gopal Varma and is scheduled for a 2010 release.

Philanthropy

In 2008, Sivakumar began Agaram Foundation^[2] working to help children who drop out of school early in Tamil Nadu. With the Ministry of Education in Tamil Nadu, he created a short commercial video outlining child poverty, labour and lack of education, titled Herova? Zerova?. The film was written and produced by Sivakumar and also starred Joseph Vijay, R. Madhavan and Jyothika Saravanan.

Personal life

He was married to Jyothika Saravanan on September 11, 2006.^[5] On August 10, 2007, the couple's daughter Diya was born.^[6] He resides in Chennai with his family. He has numerous friends in the film industry.

Awards

• Dinakaran Best New Face Actor in Nerukku Ner (1997)^[7]
• Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor in Nandha (2002)
• ITFA Best Actor Award in Kaakha Kaakha (2003)
• Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in Pithamagan (2003)
• Kalaimamani Award (2004)
• Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Perazhagan (2004)
• Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor in Ghajini (2006)^[8]
• Reliance Mobile Vijay Award for Icon of the Year (2008)
• South Scope Style Award - Youth Style Icon (Male) (2008)^[9]
• Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Vaaranam Aayiram (2009)
• Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor in Vaaranam Aayiram (2009)
• Reliance Mobile Vijay Award for Best Actor of the Year (2009)^[10]
• Filmfans Award for Best Actor in Vaaranam Aayiram (2009) ^[11]

Filmography

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Surya Sivakumar

External links

• Surya's Movie@Touring Talkies