SJ Suryah receives me and quickly steps into another room to change his shirt. “I wore the previous one for some other conversation. I don’t want to look the same again,” he says, and resumes his late lunch. “It’s all as advised by the dietician. I’m acting a lot these days and have to look fit,” he smiles, as we settle into a conversation over his characters in Mersal (a Vijay film with director Atlee slated for Diwali) and the Mahesh Babu-Murugadoss combo SPYder releasing next week, and the impending realisation of his ultimate ambition. Excerpts from the interview follow:
After your role in Iraivi last year, you seem to be an actor much in demand.
I have to thank Karthik Subbaraj for that. He believed that I could do justice to Arul (the character he played in the film). I always wanted to become an actor, and it’s all happening finally. I became a director only to launch myself as a hero some day.
Why the fascination with being a hero?
Everyone wants to be at the top of their jobs, right? Being a hero is the highest position in the department of acting. It’s not easy to become a hero. You need a director and producer to believe in you. I didn’t have any backers when I tried to break into the industry after my graduation at Loyola College.
Is that why you eventually launched yourself as a hero in New (2004)?
Yes, and something about my characters in both New and my next film, Anbe Aaruyire (2005) — something about their wildness and recklessness — made an impression with the audiences.
Yet, I wasn’t really getting acting offers from other directors. Something had gone wrong, and I needed a lengthy break to realise that I needed to prove myself as an actor first. That’s why I wrote Isai (2015), and conceived a character, AK Shiva, who goes through intense situations. The industry took note.
But now you are a villain in two films…
(Laughs) Superstars like Rajinikanth and Shah Rukh Khan had to be villains before they could be heroes, right?
Is that the sort of mass adulation you seek?
I feel shy to express that. If it has to happen, it will.
You had no hesitation accepting the villain roles in SPYder and Mersal?
I said yes to Murugadoss without even asking for the story of SPYder. It didn’t even matter to me who the hero was. It was a surprise to learn the hero was Mahesh Babu and that it was a
bilingual film.
But we heard that Atlee had to give you an elaborate three-hour narration.
I was mind-blown by how he enacted the whole narration of Mersal, especially its flashback portions. I was concerned about playing a villain again, but I accepted it right away because of Atlee’s narration.
Do you think your roles in Mersal and SPYder will redefine the landscape of villains in South cinema?
I never set out to achieve such things. I’ve always believed that wonders cannot be made; they should happen.
You were effusive in your praise for Mahesh Babu and Vijay at the audio launches of both films.
They have achieved what I have always wanted. They are at the top of their professions and have surrendered themselves to cinema, despite having already earned fame, power and money. It was a great learning experience for the hero in me.
Any chance we would see SJ Suryah, the director, make a comeback?
(Laughs) The plan was always to turn director, so I could become an actor. So, director SJ Suryah has done his job. Let him rest.
I imagine that you are being bombarded with acting offers?
To play both villain and hero. (Smiles) I’ve heard almost 26 scripts so far, and have narrowed down about three. And am playing the hero in all three!
If there were a showdown between the villains of Mersal and SPYder, who would win?
I don’t know. Water turns to steam when heated, and ice when frozen. I don’t know who will win if ice and steam fought.
Spoken like a true diplomat. It seems you are cut out to become a star after all.
(Laughs) Thank you. I hope so.