Suriya Rising

He is not a familiar face in Bollywood. Neither is he a typical Tinseltown hero sporting designer wear and trendy haircut.

He is not a familiar face in Bollywood. Neither is he a typical Tinseltown hero sporting designer wear and trendy haircut. But when Suriya walks out in a prisoners attire,after giving his shot,he sure catches your attention. We wonder if its the tousled hair,the stubble,the toothy smile,the six-pack or the intense gaze,which have earned him a huge fan following down South. I would rather be known for the characters I have portrayed, says the actor,who is in Mumbai to shoot for his Bollywood debut Raktha Charitra,a two-part biopic directed by Ram Gopal Varma,based on the life of Telugu politician Paritala Ravi.

While Vivek Oberoi plays Ravi,Suriya will appear as his rival,Maatal Suri,in the climax of the first part. His character will gain more prominence in the second part. I am here with a lot of expectations. My people back home have asked me to make them proud, says the 34-year-old. The good part is that I am doing this movie in three languagesTamil,Telugu and Hindi. I first give my shot in Tamil and then Hindi. This way,I get the emotions right. Suriya,who will be stationed in Mumbai for the next one month,is quite familiar with the city of his in-laws. My wife Jyothikas parents live here and I have visited them a few times, he says,but complains about not getting the time to explore the city.

Though the actor caught Hindi filmmakers attention earlier,RGV gets the credit for convincing him for a Bollywood debut. I have no plans of moving to Mumbai. But I was impressed with RGVs idea and my character in Raktha Charitra, he states. Suriya finds Bollywood overpowering. The canvas is huge here. There is constant pressure to stay in the news.

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In the South,the top actors have etched out their identities. Vijay is known for his charismatic personality and Ajit for his macho

image. However,Suriya seems to have escaped the typecasting. I want to be known as a versatile actor and I always want my movies to be bigger than me, he says. The inspiration for this comes from his childhood idol Kamal Haasan.

Son of veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar,Suriya is termed as contemporary Tamil cinemas strongest crowd-puller and his superstardom extends to Tamil enclaves overseas. But he did not become a star overnight. His first eight to ten films floppedmaking him regret his decision to quit his job at a garment export company. I have cried into my pillow and wondered if I had done the right thing by taking up acting.

His big break came in 2001 with Nandha,

directed by Bala,who also changed Suriyas approach towards acting. Bala Sir told me that I have

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powerful eyes and I should use them more while acting, he reveals. In the folowing years,films like Ghajini,Vaaranam Aayiram and the action-oriented Vel and Ayan have managed to weave magic at the box office.

Although Suriya has been hailed as a mass hero,he tries something new in each of his movies. In the South,you need to make films in a certain manner since multiplex movies are still not a draw. Hence,I try to do roles which will be remembered for a long time to come. And Raktha Charitra is one of them.

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