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He's a hit

Despite giving hits, Suriya treads with caution

METHOD ACTOR Suriya prefers to act in one film at a time.

Actors Suriya and Aamir Khan seem to have formed a mutual admiration club. Post Fanaah with Kajol and Tabu, Aamir will star in the remake of Gazini and is all praises for Suriya's performance in the Telugu/Tamil superhit film. Suriya, meanwhile, recollects with pride, "I've been acting for eight years now and people have appreciated my work. But receiving an sms from Aamir late one night was another thing altogether. He messaged appreciating my work in Gazini and asked what would be an appropriate time to speak with me. I was touched. I still have the message saved on my phone."

The Hindi version of the film, says Suriya, will be markedly different. "Aamir and Murugadoss will be doing a lot of changes in the second half of the film. It will turn out well. I watched Rang De Basanti and was truly blown away," says Suriya, who was in Hyderabad for Pepsi's new campaign. Capitalising on Suriya's popularity might help the brand, but the actor himself is using a good part of the remuneration for social causes. "There are a few things, like health care — especially kidney ailments — that I support. For this, I use the money I get through endorsements."

In more ways than one, 2005 was a year that Suriya would love to etch in his memory. Over the last eight years, his career graph has been peppered with hits, but nothing worked magic like Gazini. "Some people feel I got my due quite late. But I'm glad at this slow and steady progress. I dabbled with garment business for two years before entering films. Despite being an actor's (Tamil actor Sivakumar) son, I didn't know the basics. I took my time to learn. Director Bala's Nanda was the turning point. As an actor, that film helped me know where I was going wrong and what I should do to improve." Meanwhile, plans are on to dub Nanda in Telugu. Says a hesitant Suriya, "I think so. I guess even Kakha Kakha is being dubbed in Telugu despite it having been remade as Gharshana." Clearly, Suriya is in demand. "I've met a few Telugu film-makers. It's too early to take names. But once my commitments in Tamil are over, I'll do some films here."

Suriya believes in doing one film at a time and says, "It helps me focus better. And even trade wise, it's better to space out your releases." He believes that his next film, Jillendru Oru Kadhal co-starring Jothika and Bhoomika, will be a trendsetter. "It will be a cult film and usher in changes in the film industry, like what Kakha Kakha did." Before signing off, he reveals that he's soon to tie the knot with Jothika. "We'll get married later this year. I'm hoping for the best."

SANGEETHA DEVI. K

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