Suriya admits he’s not a ‘great actor’, acknowledges overacting criticism: ‘I can’t be Karthi… I can’t be Meiyazhagan’

Despite the movie opening to mixed reviews, Suriya’s performance in Retro received immense praise. Particularly since it arrives after his colossal disaster Kanguva (2024) – which turned out to be a masterclass in how not to make a movie – and also since it marks his first collaboration with renowned director Karthik Subbaraj, expectations were sky high for Retro. Although the movie did not live up to the hype, Suriya’s fans have heaved a sigh of relief, as its underperformance wasn’t due to any shortcomings in his portrayal.

Although he’s known for delivering powerful performances that have often been the only standout element in some of his box office duds, Suriya recently said that he doesn’t consider himself to be a great actor. He passed the remark during a chat with Karthik Subbaraj and composer Santhosh Narayanan as part of the promotions for Retro. Discussing the making of the movie, Karthik said that Suriya put in significant thought into even bridge scenes in Retro that did not have much significance in the overall narrative. “What I noticed was that he did not take even such scenes for granted,” he said.

Also Read | Zeenat Aman calls marrying Mazhar Khan a mistake, read about his affair while pregnant with first child: ‘I was close to nervous breakdown’

Story continues below this ad

In response, Suriya pointed out, “I am not a great actor. There are people who say I am an overacting actor. So many people will have that opinion. I simply follow what Bala (director) told me once: ‘Be honest in front of the camera; just be honest. If you slip out of the emotional state of the character and I fail to notice it, just let me know. I will be very happy if you do that.’ Since I studied at that university (Bala)… I try my best. Not every time it happens, but I try my genuine best,” he said.

He also admitted that he is not like his brother Karthi when it comes to acting. “There are some things I can do, and others I simply can’t. Take a film like Meiyazhagan. I can’t be Karthi… I can’t be Meiyazhagan. There are some things that I have no shame in admitting that I can’t do,” he added.