When Mamitha Baiju revealed she's been Suriya's fan since childhood; almost worked with him once

Actor Mamitha Baiju, 23, has been a huge fan of Suriya, 49, since she was a child. The two are now paired together in Venky Atluri's Suriya 46.

Director Venky Atluri’s tentatively titled Suriya 46, starring Suriya and Mamitha Baiju in the lead roles, was launched officially on Monday. The film, produced by Naga Vamsi of Sithara Entertainments, will see the 23-year-old actor work with the 49-year-old Retro actor for the first time. But this isn’t the first time they almost acted together. (Also Read: Suriya says people call him ‘overacting actor’: I can't be Karthi, can’t be Meiyazhagan)

Mamitha Baiju will finally work with Suriya in Venky Atluri's next film.

Mamitha Baiju-Suriya once almost acted together

Director Bala’s film Vanagaan was released in theatres in January this year. However, the film was initially launched in 2022 with Suriya as the lead. He was also supposed to produce it under 2D Entertainment, but later withdrew from the project due to creative differences. 

Krithi Shetty and Mamitha also shot for the film, but Arun Vijay, Roshni Prakash and Ridhi eventually starred in it. Mamitha also shot with Suriya for 40 days before exiting the project, something she revealed while promoting her 2024 hit Premalu.

When Mamitha spoke of being a Suriya fan

Through the years, Mamitha has also been quite vocal about how big a fan she is of Suriya. In 2022, she spoke to Ginger Media and said, “Suriya is my favourite person. I respect him so much because he is such a wonderful person. We have a lot to learn from him, like the way he talks and the way he treats people.” 

In 2024, she spoke to Rednool and gushed about being a Suriya fan since she was a kid. She said, “Someone whom I like very much, even from when I was a child, has been Suriya sir. I also like Ajith sir a lot. I’ve watched all their films.” At the Galatta Nakshatra Awards earlier this year, she reinstated that and said, “My father and brother would watch a lot of Tamil films when I was growing up. I saw a lot of Suriya sir’s films with them.” 

Suriya last starred in Karthik Subbaraj’s Retro. Suriya 46 will be his first Telugu-Tamil film. Mamitha was last seen in Nikesh RS’ Rebel, her Tamil film debut. She will also star in Dude and Jana Nayagan.