From Mohanlal’s ‘henchman’ to Union Minister: The extraordinary rise, fall, and political rebirth of this Kerala actor

In fact, it was in films headlined by Mohanlal that he made his initial appearances. Interestingly, even his ascent to fame was through the same movie, Rajavinte Makan, that catapulted Mohanlal to superstardom. Regardless, he eventually rose through the ranks and found a position alongside both Mohanlal and Mammootty, earning recognition as Malayalam cinema’s “action hero.”

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Suresh Gopi’s cinematic entry

Born on June 26, 1958, as the son of K Gopinathan Pillai, a film distributor, and V Gnanalekshmi Amma, Suresh is a postgraduate in English Literature. Interestingly, he made his film debut as a child artiste, playing a small role in director KS Sethumadhavan’s Odayil Ninnu, starring Sathyan and Prem Nazir in the lead roles. He then reportedly returned to Tinseltown as an adult actor with Niraparaadhi, where he essayed a minor character. Subsequently, he made a similarly small appearance in TP Balagopalan MA. But his fate changed when he agreed to play Mohanlal’s henchman in Thambi Kannanthanam’s Rajavinte Makan, a role that many actors had rejected, feeling it was inferior.

Suresh Gopi in Commissioner. (Express archive photo)

Why many actors rejected Rajavinte Makan

The writer of the blockbuster gangster film, Dennis Joseph, himself revealed this once. “In the initial script, underworld don Vincent Gomes (Mohanlal) had only one right-hand man. Although Thambi approached a few known actors to play the role, they all turned it down, saying they didn’t want to play Mohanlal’s gunda (goon). Upon noticing many known faces rejecting it, I suggested splitting the character into two and casting newcomers. Once Thambi agreed, we began looking for potential acting aspirants. While Mohan Jose, a relative of filmmaking legend KG George, was cast in one role, we zeroed in on Suresh Gopi for the second. Rajavinte Makan marked Suresh Gopi’s first commercial entry,” he recalled during an episode of Safari TV’s “Charithram Enniloode” programme.

Suresh Gopi with Mohanlal and Zainuddin in Rakthasakshikal Sindabad. (Express archive photo)

Rise to superstardom and subsequent fall

It did not take him long to grab attention. His antagonistic roles in Mammootty’s Sayam Sandhya and Mohanlal’s Irupatham Noottandu, as well as his performances in notable characters in movies such as January Oru Orma, Bhoomiyile Rajakkanmar, New Delhi, Manu Uncle, and Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, among others, earned Suresh significant acclaim. Meanwhile, the 1990s saw him rise as the “action hero” with movies like Ekalavyan, Mafia, Chukkan, Kashmeeram, Commissioner, Highway, Yuvathurki, Lelam, Pathram, Vazhunnor, Crime File, and FIR. He eventually established himself as a superstar alongside Mammootty and Mohanlal.

However, his career began to decline in the 2000s, owing to a series of failures. Although he delivered notable hits in between, such as Thenkasipattanam, Bharathchandran IPS, The Tiger, and Chinthamani Kolacase, the number of flops was far higher in comparison. By the 2010s, he had lost his superstardom. During this period, Suresh mostly appeared in multi-starrer movies. Since then, although he has done films occasionally, none of them emerged as massive successes.

Suresh Gopi felicitates Mammootty. (Express archive photo)

Political entry

While his career was declining in the 2000s, Suresh entered politics and campaigned for LDF candidate VS Achuthanandan in the Malampuzha constituency and UDF candidate MP Gangadharan in the Ponnani constituency during the 2006 Assembly elections.

In 2016 — by then he had fully lost his superstardom — Suresh was sworn in as an MP in the Rajya Sabha, nominated by the President as an eminent citizen. He joined the BJP later that year. Although he contested as a BJP candidate from Thrissur in both the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the 2021 Assembly elections, Suresh lost both times. However, marking a shift in Kerala’s political landscape, he won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat in 2024, becoming the first saffron party nominee to win a Parliament seat in the state.

Suresh Gopi with Biju Menon and Maniyanpilla Raju in FIR. (Express archive photo)

He is currently a Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Tourism. Suresh Gopi is also infamous for courting controversies with his remarks and actions. He is married to Radhika, and they have four children together. He was most recently seen in JSK: Janaki V v/s State of Kerala.