Suriya chose a film career to pay his mom's ₹25k loan: ‘Never dreamt of becoming an actor’

Actor Suriya revealed in a recent interview how he never thought he would be in the film industry but he only said yes due to his mom's loan.

Suriya might be actor Sivakumar’s son, but he revealed in a recent interview that acting had never crossed his mind. Talking to Pinkvilla, he said he had hoped to start his own company but picked acting to pay off his mother’s ₹25,000 loan. (Also Read: Suriya on Kanguva: 'Wanted to make something like Braveheart, Lord of the Rings')

Suriya is actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi's son, he spoke about his first film in a recent interview.

Suriya’s acting journey

Suriya told the publication that he used to work in the garment industry. As a trainee, he earned ₹750 for 15 days of work, and after three years, he would make ₹8000 monthly. He hoped that someday he would have his own company and his father would invest ₹1 crore as capital. Acting was never on the agenda.

However, his mother, Lakshmi, revealed to him one day that she had taken a ₹25,000 loan without his father’s knowledge. “Mom said that our bank balance had never been more than one lakh or one and a half lakh, and dad never insisted on his salary; he would just wait for it to come when it did. At that time, dad hadn’t worked continuously for more than six months or ten months,” said Suriya.

His first film

Being an actor’s son, Suriya said he was ‘used to receiving offers’, but when Mani Ratnam’s film production ‘repeatedly’ asked him to be on board a project, he said yes to pay off the loan. “I never thought I’d be in the film industry; I never wanted to face the camera and never dreamt of becoming an actor. I came into the industry for the ₹25,000 to give back to my mom and say, “Your loan is over, and you don’t have to worry.” That’s how I started my career, and that’s how I became Suriya.”

Suriya’s first film, Nerrukku Ner, was released in 1997. Written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam, the film starred Vijay in the lead role. Kausalya and Simran played the female leads.

He will soon play a dual role in Siva’s Kanguva, which is releasing in theatres on November 14. Bobby Deol and Disha Patani also star in it.