It is never easy to shake off a tag that makes an actor famous. Soori might not be Parotta Soori anymore, and it is a reflection of his body of work over the past decade

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Happy Birthday Soori: 20 times the actor tickled our funny bones

Is there anyone else in Tamil Nadu owes more to the humble Parotta than actor Soori? On the occasion of his birthday, we celebrate the various times the actor made us laugh, smile, and also cry, at times

Team CE

Published:28th Aug, 2019 at 4:14 PM

After a number of blink-and-you-miss roles, Soori struck big in Susienthiran's directorial debut, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu. Such is the impact that he is still fondly called Parotta Soori. Even now.

He soon followed it up with a thoroughly enjoyable outing in Kalavani. His track with Ganja Karuppu as Panchayathu has a separate fan base

Soori shines in a character that not just explored his comic timing. As a frustrated young man in Naan Mahaan Alla, Soori did put a good spin on the usual 'hero friend' role

Soori in Kullanari Kootam played an aspiring policeman, and impressively looked the part. Once again, Soori showed glimpses of his emotional side in a largely comic role

One of Soori's best performances to date, he brings the roof down as an undercover cop in Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai. Limited screentime notwithstanding, Soori had a memorable outing

By this time, Soori was the de facto comedian for a rural. As a hero's friend, Soori didn't just hit the right notes as a comedian, but was equally adept at being loyal to Sundarapandian

Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga marked Soori's second collaboration with Sivakarthikeyan, and ushered in the industry belief that the latter chose Soori for all his rural-based films

And the runaway hit Varuthapadaadha Vaalibar Sangam proved it right. The most memorable outing of this duo so far had some of Soori's most quotable lines and oft-repeated scenes in various TV channels

Pandiyanaadu was an interesting detour in Soori's career. While Othakada machan introduced us to the dancer in Soori, the film, overall, tested his histrionics more than any other film so far

Another TV Channel favourite, Soori in Rummy, though had a perceivable shade of creepiness, had a good comedy track in the Vijay Sethupathi starrer

Soori had slowly started to gravitate towards roles that were not just comic relief. One such movie was Samuthirakani's Nimirndhu Nil.

Playing a failed cricketer in Jeeva, Soori, once again proved he was a serious actor, who needed to be taken more seriously.

For sustenance in Tamil film industry, it is important to feature in star vehicles. One such film was Vedalam, where Soori played a strict taxi company owner who moonlights as a womaniser.

Idhu Namma Aalu saw Soori share screenspace with Simbu in a very chic film about love and relationships. Soori's one-liners about modern-day love was funny yet acerbic

While his comedy tracks slowly started receiving mixed reactions from the audience, films like Desingu Raja, ensured his market never waned.

Probably one of his best comic performances in his career, Soori as Sakkarai aka Pushpa Purushan, was at his hilarious best

Not just a comedian, Soori was a parallel hero in Ippadai Vellum, a comic caper, co-starring Udhayanidhi Stalin.

Soori became inseparable with rural films as people started comparing his run of successes with Vadivelu's at his peak. Soori, alongside Vishal, in Marudhu, shared an emotional bond with Appatha

Rajini Murugan marked yet another success for the Sivakarthikeyan-Soori combo. As Thothathri, he was nominated for a number of awards

Every comedian has that one film that endears him to the masses. In that way, Soori had lady luck smiling wide at him, as he delivered one hit after the other. Kadaikutty Singam is one such example.