Career

Initial career (1997 – 2002)

• Surya debuted in the 1997 film Nerrukku Ner directed by Vasanth. This film produced by Mani Ratnam was a hit. Later he starred in movies which did not do well. In 2001 he starred 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 Saravanan'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, causing him to be compared with Vijay and Ajith Kumar. 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 became a super hit at the box office.

Vaaranam Aayiram and beyond

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

• Surya's next film Ayan in 2009 was directed by K. V. Anand and released on 3 April 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 17 October 2009. Aadhavan went on to become another hit movie of Surya's. Surya received a Mathrubhumi Amritha filmfare Award-2009(Kerala) for Best Actor (Tamil) for his performance in Ayan and Aadhavan which were super hits in Kerala. He is now acting in his 25th film, Singam, directed by Hari. He will make his Bollywood debut in Rakta Charitra, which is being directed by Ram Gopal Varma and is scheduled for a 2010 release.