Actor Suriya’s Agaram Foundation recently marked 15 years of empowering and educating underprivileged children and youth. At a special event held on Sunday, Suriya, along with his family and several celebrities, came together to celebrate this milestone. The occasion honoured individuals who have benefitted from the foundation’s support—those who have completed major degrees and achieved significant milestones in their careers.

Taking to the stage to celebrate students and the foundation's success, Suriya started his speech by quoting a famous line from Avvaiyar's Aathichoodi, 'Aram Seiyya Virumbu' (Desire to do good deeds)'. He noted how Agaram started out of the desire to reciprocate the love that people showed on him when he came to the acting field.

"While we were searching for ways to make a difference, we ended up adopting a tribal school.That’s when we saw firsthand the realities of students from 6th to 12th grade dropping out, the harsh family conditions, and the many problems they face. To fix this, and to help them believe in education, we made a short film titled Hero-va? Zero-va?. Vijay, Madhavan, Jo, and I acted in it. The government later ensured it reached schools across the state. Money should never be a reason for a child to stop studying."

He recalled how he called many people during the shoot of Singam to join hands to educate children. "That effort brought in Rs 1 crore," he said, underlining how it was the starting point for educating several youngsters. "We began 'Oru Kodiyil Oru Thodakkam' (One beginning in one crore) event. After that, we received countless student applications." He further explained, "We promised to support 100 students, but eventually had to support 160. We had a budget for only 100. There wasn’t enough for the remaining 60. So, I picked up the phone again. Good-hearted people came together once more. Many colleges stepped up, offering free seats. That bond continues even today. What started with 160 students has, over fifteen years, grown to reach over 6,000 students."

Ever since the beginning of Agaram, the foundation had funded the education of 6,378 students, among which 4,800 are first-generation learners.

The event also saw Suriya's brother and noted actor Karthi, actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, filmmakers Vetri Maaran and TJ Gnanavel in attendance, and producer Kalaipuli S Thanu, among others. During the event, filmmaker TJ Gnanavel also handed over a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to the foundation.