‘I wish to expand my reach as an actor’

Being a star is all SJ Suryah ever wanted. It’s why he did thankless roles as a junior artist… It’s why he waited tables. It’s why he hung in the periphery of Tamil cinema for scraps of opportunity. When he didn’t find benefactors, he decided to become his own. The big plan was for him to turn filmmaker and then cast himself. His dream started manifesting, as he delivered hits as a director with Vaali and Khushi, films that accelerated the stardom of its heroes, Ajith and Vijay. When his big debut as an actor in New followed, he thought he would go on to scale peaks as an actor. Life, however, threw him a curveball.

A depressing lull followed as he went on to star in films that didn’t quite register an impact. Stardom, as he sought it, turned out to be rather elusive and impossible to attain. Had he made a mistake moving away from his career as a filmmaker? It was during a time of profound distress that Karthik Subbaraj, who found SJ Suryah’s offscreen persona to be quite fascinating, made the unusual decision to cast him as Arul in his film about toxic men, Iraivi. “Iraivikku mun, Iraivikku pin,” says SJ Suryah, acknowledging the film’s game-changing impact on his acting career. He still remembers feeling a sense of profound satisfaction after completing the first day’s shooting of the film. “It was the first time a ‘pro director’ had cast me,” he says, voice bursting with affection for Karthik Subbaraj. “He is not great at narration, but he is a fantastic filmmaker. Even if he doesn’t talk a lot, he manages to inspire us, actors, with his choice of words. After shooting the first day for Iraivi, I had a peaceful night of sleep after years. It felt like I had been validated finally.”

The promos of his upcoming film, Bommai (which he has produced as well), suggest a character who is listless and forlorn—not unlike Arul from Iraivi. “Correct comparison!” he says, excited. “Rajkumar (his character from Bommai) has a great pain within him, but unlike Arul, he isn’t a drunk. Neither is he depressed throughout. The film is about how his tender relationship with a mannequin trasforms him.” It’s strange that for an actor with aspirations of becoming a star, SJ Suryah doesn’t quite care about looking haggard on screen. “My insecurity over my looks got broken around when I did Isai (2015). I learned that so much of what I had thought about appearance and looks was wrong. For instance, I thought my sharp jawline was a negative,” he says. Even before I can vehemently disagree, he goes on to share that many top filmmakers today tell him that it’s a huge positive. “I see actors who are too concerned about their looks, actors who don’t quite respect when their characters need to look unattractive. I think this is really wrong.” The ever-expressive SJ Suryah says this with his eyes bulging in shock, as though he were unable to reconcile with actors committing such a cardinal sin.

Considering that his Bommai character, Rajkumar, seems obsessed about a mannequin, I point out that he has played his share of such characters over the years, and how, like Selvaraghavan, many of his films as a director too have been about an obsession bordering sometimes on insanity. “Maybe, maybe, but I think Selva sir and I approach it differently. In Bommai, my character is obsessed, but there’s a maturity about him. It’s strange because you would think obsession can exist only where there’s no maturity.” It’s perhaps such nuanced understanding of obsession that made him deliver a compelling performance in Selvaraghavan’s Nenjam Marappathillai (2021). He smiles in proud agreement. “Selva sir is specific about what he wants. If you deliver exactly as he dictates, you will end up offering a xerox copy, without the life of his original performance. You need to internalise his instructions. You need to ‘lock and load’. And then, you need to pour your heart and mind into it.”

Only a person with incredible mastery over their mind can summon the concentration needed to execute such performances. “You need to suffocate all other systems within you,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what issues you had with your wife or child that day. It doesn’t matter what joys your life gave you that day either. It’s all about being in the moment, being possessed by your character. That’s the high! That’s the enjoyment!” Even as he is talking about it, his words drip with the ecstasy he feels about being an actor.

He doesn’t think Karthik Subbaraj offering him the career-defining Iraivi was a stroke of good fortune. “I call it a deserved blessing for all my earnest preparation.” It’s his advice too for all artists who think they deserve better but are stuck and struggling to emerge out of being stereotyped. “Make yourself ready in every way and the opportunity will come for you. Don’t just dream of changing. Try to understand your heroes and ask how they rose to where they are. You will find that good fortune plays little part. It’s more about preparation.”

SJ Suryah’s preparation for a film includes looking for a performance to model his character on. “Even Sivaji sir took such references for his performances.” For the superhit film, Maanaadu (2021), in which he plays a cold, ruthless policeman, he zeroed in on the villain of Terminator 2: Judgment Day for inspiration. “He is a precise runner, an emotionless man with a singular objective. I processed my Maanaadu character as being somewhat similar.” For his upcoming Bommai, he didn’t need such a reference point. “Director Radha Mohan and I have worked hard to make Rajkumar feel relatable. Originally, I thought I’ll take after some ‘psycho’ character as a reference point, but that would have accomplished the opposite of our objectives. If Bommai clicks, you will perceive Rajkumar as one among you. Namma paiyan avan.”

It's a similar feeling many stars have invoked within us too—that they are one of us—but SJ Suryah’s notion of stardom has shifted over the years. “Initially, I had a fixed definition of what stardom meant. I have realised now that it is wrong. Stardom isn’t an aspirational goal; it’s an accessible destination. It’s more important to live like a star than become one. So, who’s a star?” He pauses and answers his question. “Anyone who does what they like is a star.” For SJ Suryah, life today is full of hours of doing what he likes. “I have peaceful nights of sleep every day now.” And yet, this restless actor won’t rest in his present laurels. “I wish to expand my reach as an actor. Right now, those in and around Tamil Nadu care about my work,” he says, thankful for the attention but still unsatisfied. “But look at an actor like Di Caprio whose reach spans the world. I want to understand how that can be accomplished. I want to attain that, and if I can’t, I’ll die trying. But giving up? That’s not part of the plan.”