Surya

Saravanan Sivakumar popularly known as Surya (born on 23 July, 1975), is an Indian actor in the Tamil film industry. He is the son of Tamil actor Sivakumar and is married to Jyothika, a popular Tamil actress. He is well-known for trying out off-beat roles in different films.

Personal life

His father is the Tamil actor Sivakumar.He is the eldest son in the family with one younger brother actor Karthi and younger sister Brindha.His Mother Tongue is Tamil. He married actress Jyothika on September 11,2006. They were blessed with a baby girl on August 10, 2007 whose birth star is Punartha.Their daughter was named Diya which means light, Surya and Jyothika also derive their names from light. Surya takes part in many charity activities;supports the Tanker foundation and also furthers his father's help to the needy with agram foundation. He is part of the actor Surya's fanclub in yahoo groups where he is more than happy to receive comments and suggestions from fans. He also has the biggest community in Orkut for a Tamil actor with more than 57 000 members. Interestingly he is good friends with actor Vijay with whom he studied.

Career

His debut film, Nerrukku Ner (1997) with Vijay was a big hit but all his succeeding films did not do well. His first reasonable success was in the movie Pppvellam Kettuppar(1999). His next movie with Vijay, Friends was another big hit. But he did not get any big breaks and his career seemed to be stalled until director Bala approached him for a role in his next venture titled Nandha. This was one of Surya's best films. The film grossed Rs.50 lakhs at the box office. Surya won his first filmfare award for best actor for this movie. Surya’s next venture was with Vikraman in the movie Unnai Ninathu and the movie was able to record good collections. This was followed by Mounam Pesiyade which also did decently well. Surya’s second blockbuster was Kaaka Kaaka, a movie about the life of a police officer. The film grossed almost Rs.100 million at the box office. Also Pithamagan alongside Vikram was a big hit, Surya was appreciated for being a very different character.

In the movie Perazhagan, Surya acted in two roles, one as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but a confident phone booth keeper. His role as the handicapped was praised by critics, and he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance. His role in Aayitha Ezhuthu as a student leader was also favoured by the critics. His movie Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikkalam was dropped due to financial problems.

In 2005, Surya delivered more successful films in the form of Aari and Ghajini - afterwards he set up a production company called Studio Green which distributed the movie in the Chennai district. Ghajini was one of the most sensational hits of 2005, with Surya playing a short term memory loss patient, for which he even tonsured his head. The film was his third blockbuster and grossed over Rs.200 million at the box office. By then, trade began comparing him with long established actors like, Vikram, Vijay and Ajith.

Surya's 2006 release is N. Krishna's Silluni Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his real-life partner Jyothika in the film, however the film failed to become a hit. In 2007, Surya's solitary release was Vel, where he was paired with Asin Thottumkal, the film became a hit at the box-office.

Surya has signed up to Vaaranam Aayiram by Gautham Menon opposite Divya Spandana and Sameera Reddy. The film is set for an April 2008 release.