Actor-filmmaker Ken Karunaas' debut directorial Youth earned critical and commercial success upon its release in February. The film minted over Rs 82 crores at the box office and continues to be discussed widely even after its OTT premiere. Actor Suraj Venjaramoodu, who played a key role in the comedy drama as Ken's father, revealed that he too has been receiving widespread acclaim alongside the rest of the team.
In an exclusive interview with CE, Suraj opened up about why he chose to trust a debut director. He noted that Ken’s dedication and raw passion was excellent. He said, “I saw the fire in him. He has such clarity in everything, especially in the way he narrates a story. He had already shot some footage on his mobile—fight scenes, songs, and some sequences—and showed them to me. No matter what I asked, he answered it with such passion. He told me, 'Sir, I want you to join the movie. I want to become an actor; that is my dream.' When I was starting out, many people helped me enter the industry, so I thought, why shouldn't I trust them and say yes? Ken is a born actor and a multi-talented artist; he is someone with immense talent.”
During the same interview, Suraj was also asked why it took him a long time to step into the Tamil film industry. He admitted that his fear came from a desire to be perfect in language. The actor noted, "It was simply fear. As I said, when I come to this industry, I want my slang to be perfect, and I want to truly understand the meaning of what I’m saying. If I perform without that understanding. For example, if I say a dialogue and my co-star responds with something similar. I wouldn't be able to react in a natural way. I would have to stop, process the meaning, and then only respond. It’s a long internal process, and that made me nervous. However, Director Arun has given me great support, and I now have many friends here. By talking to them constantly, I am slowly learning the language.”
Up next, the actor is set to play a police officer named Bharathan in Dhanush-starrer Kara, alongside Mamitha Baiju, which is all set for its theatrical release on April 30. Besides Suraj, the film is packed with a massive supporting cast, including Karunas, Jayaram, S Rajapandi, KS Ravikumar, MS Bhaskar, Sreeja Ravi, Kushmitha, Nithin Sathya, and Prithvi Pandiyarajan. The music for the movie is composed by GV Prakash. It is produced by Ishari K Ganesh under his Vels Film International banner.