S. J. Suryah
S. J. Suryah in 2016
Born	Selvaraj Justin Pandian (1968-07-20)20 July 1968 (age 57) Vasudevanallur,Tenkasi district,Madras State, India
Other names	Nadipin nayagan
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai
Occupations	Actor Lyricist Film director Film producer Screenwriter Playback singer Composer Narrator Philanthropist
Years active	1988–present

Selvaraj Justin Pandian^[1] (born 20 July 1968), known by his stage nameS. J. Suryah, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, playback singer, writer and philanthropist who predominantly works inTamil cinema. He sought to become an actor but started out directing, assistingVasanth and Sabhapathy.

Suryah made his directorial debut withVaalee in 1999 whose success catapulted him to stardom. His other notable films includeKushi (2000),New (2004),Anbe Aaruyire (2005) andIsai (2015). He made his acting debut withNew and went on to act in films likeKalvanin Kadhali (2006),Thirumagan (2007),Vyabari (2007) and appeared as the antagonist inSpyder (2017),Mersal (2017),Maanaadu (2021),Don (2022),Mark Antony (2023),Indian 2 (2024),Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (2024), andGame Changer (2025) and as the protagonist inKadamaiyai Sei (2022) andJigarthanda DoubleX (2023).

S.J. Suryah, originally named Selvaraj Justin Pandian, was born on July 20, 1968, into aTamil family inVasudevanallur,Tenkasi district. His parents, Sammanasu Pandian and Anandham, raised him alongside his two older siblings: a sister named Selvi and a brother named Victor.^{[citation needed]}

After completing his schooling near his birthplace inVasudevanallur nearPuliangudi in SouthTamil Nadu, Suryah moved toChennai to complete a physics degree atLoyola College. Despite getting an opportunity to pursue further studies at an engineering college inMadurai, he declined the offer and stayed in Chennai, with the hope of finding a breakthrough as an actor in Tamil films. To be financially self-dependent, he began working in hotels and as a steward, before receiving an offer to apprentice underK. Bhagyaraj.^[2] He subsequently worked as an assistant director in the teams ofAasai (1995) underVasanth andSundara Purushan (1996) underSabapathy, while also being seen in uncredited appearances as an actor, notably as a cock fighter inBharathiraja'sKizhakku Cheemayile (1993).

While working in the team ofUllaasam (1997), the film's lead actorAjith Kumar recognised Suryah from their collaboration inAasai, and accepted to listen to a script narration. Ajith, impressed with the narration, subsequently helped approachS. S. Chakravarthy to produce the film and the team began work onVaalee (1999) in late 1997.Keerthi Reddy was announced to be the lead actress before she was replaced bySimran,^[3] while Suryah also chose to introduceJyothika in the film.^[4] A thriller film, a reviewer from theDeccan Herald described it as "definitely worth seeing" saying it "has something for all tastes — a pleasant love angle, some suspense, complex psychological nuances, good acting, pleasing songs" while praising Ajith's performance.^[5] The reviewer from Indolink.com labelled the film as "a classic in its own right", describing Suryah as "a new young director to the cine field who can make Tamil Cinema be proud once again".^[6]The New Indian Express mentioned the film as "outstanding" while mentioning Suryah does a "good job and succeeds".^[7] The film's commercial success meant that it provided a breakthrough for both Suryah's and the lead actors' careers.^[8][9]

After watching the première show ofVaalee, producerA. M. Rathnam offered Suryah an opportunity to make another film and thusKushi, a romantic comedy featuringVijay andJyothika materialised.^[2] Telling the story of a pair of egoistic lovers with a college backdrop, the film was shot in early 2000 across South India and New Zealand. The film opened to positive reviews from critics in May 2000 and also went on to achieve box office success.Rediff.com gave a positive verdict stating that the movie is a "neat family entertainer", praising the director's story-telling,^[10] while Bizhat.com also gave the movie a positive review.^[11]The Hindu featured the film as runner-up in their list of top Tamil films in 2000,^[12][13] whileJyothika went on to win theFilmfare Best Actress Award in Tamil for her performance in the film.^[14]

The team then approachedPawan Kalyan to star in a Telugu version of the film and after a positive narration session, the actor prioritised the venture over two other films.Bhumika Chawla was added to the cast to play Jyothika's role, while a few changes were inserted to make it fit for the Telugu audiences. Pawan Kalyan had also insisted inserting few extra action sequences for the Telugu version, and despite an initial difference of opinions, Suryah eventually allowed the scenes to be filmed but refused to be at the shoot when they were shot.^[2] The film also titled asKushi (2001), opened to positive reviews and went on to become the most successful Telugu film ever at release in June 2001.^[15] A film critic noted Suryah "has come up with another winner this time. There is no story in this film, but it runs with a neat screenplay", adding "he has done an extraordinary job as screenplay writer".^[16] He made a third version of the film,Khushi (2003) in Hindi, for producerBoney Kapoor, withFardeen Khan andKareena Kapoor starring. In comparison to the other two versions, the film received negative reviews and performed poorly at the box office, with a critic writing "plenty of Suryah's scenes are also somewhat contrived, in the vein of those eighties family pot-boilers... [she] just cannot get effective emoting from his lead actors".^[17]

Suryah began pre-production work on a third story titledNew in early 2001, which he would also produce. StarringAjith Kumar and Jyothika, music directorDeva had composed ten songs for the film by June 2001.^[2] After Ajith Kumar had become busy with other commitments, Suryah decided to enact the lead role himself, revealing he had always wanted to be an actor.Simran signed on to play the leading female character, whileKiran andDevayani were cast in pivotal roles. A simultaneously shot Telugu version titledNaani featuringMahesh Babu in the lead role, withAmisha Patel,Ramya Krishnan and Devayani in supporting roles was also made.New told the tale of an 8-year-old boy who is turned into a 28-year-old man by a scientist and Suryah noted that he was loosely inspired by the Hollywood filmBig (1988). The film was shot in hundred days, with Suryah revealing he would often stop acting in between the scenes, when he knew that his performance was not up to his expectation as a director.^[18]

New released on 9 July 2004 to mixed reviews, with a critic fromThe Hindu claiming that "belonging to a genre that is rare to our cinema,New however, gets bogged down in a mire of duets and double entenders", but hinted at potential success citing that director "seems to have hit the bull's eye."^[19] The movie subsequently went on to become ablockbuster, with music composed byA. R. Rahman being labelled as one of the film's largest selling points.Naani opened the following month to mixed reviews from critics, with a reviewer noting the film suffers from "a bad script and artificialness".^[20] The film's adult theme generated controversy, and post-release, women activists in the state ofTamil Nadu demanded a ban on a film after release, which they say contained obscene sex scenes. Suryah responded by claiming that the sex scenes are there because the story line requires them and described his film as "fiction laced with sex and comedy".^[21]

In August 2005, the Madras High Court revoked the censor certificate for the film and directed the Chennai Commissioner of Police to investigate two criminal complaints registered against Suryah, ruling that the film did not provide a "clean and healthy entertainment" and that it would be failing in its duty if it did not revoke the censor certificate of the film, claiming it originally attained an "A" certificate "under questionable circumstances". Suryah was then arrested by city police for allegedly throwing a mobile phone at a woman censor board official in a fit of anger during the post-production of the film.^[22] He was later released without charge.^[23] A further case was launched in March 2006, with the Censor Board filing a complaint against Surya for using stills from scenes that were deleted from the film, with a poster which showed Suryah resting on Simran's cleavage resurfacing.^[24] He was subsequently arrested for the second time before being released.^[25]

He announced a film titledIsai in 2004 shortly after the release ofNew, when he revealed thatA. R. Rahman would also collaborate for two further ventures titledAnbulla Nanbane andAezhumazhai vs Chitra.^[26] WhileIsai was postponed,Anbulla Nanbane developed under the titleBest Friend, before the titleAnbe Aaruyire (2005) was finalised.^[27] Featuring himself in the lead role again, he signed up newcomerMeera Chopra for the film and rechristened her under the stage name Nila. He revealed that he was inspired to make the film to convey that young lovers must give each other space and wanted to showcase that attitudes towards relationships by the Indian youth was changing from the previous decade.^[28] He called the film a "sequel toKushi", revealing that the film's lead actors would have similar ego clashes.^[29] LikeNew, the film faced hurdles prior to release with the censor boards insisting on several cuts and Suryah's ongoing legal tussles meant the film was delayed. The film opened to mixed reviews in September 2005, with Sify.com labelling it as "adult entertainment" though added he "tries hard to bring his character Shiva to life but has to go miles as far as dialogue delivery and voice modulation goes but has improved leaps and bound on the dancing front".^[30] The film became his fourth consecutive commercial success in Tamil films, with Suryah adamant on thanking his crew for helping get through the controversies, labeling that "team effort" helped them overcome the problems.^[28]

Suryah began pre-production work on a directorial venture,Aezhumazhai vs Chitra, a romantic comedy starringSilambarasan andAsin, in January 2005 and the team released images taken from a promotional photo shoot. However the film, which was to be produced byS. S. Chakravarthy, eventually failed to develop and those involved moved on to different ventures.^[31][32] Suryah then began work on a venture titledPuli, a police thriller which would featureVijay in the lead role, and would haveNavodaya Appachan as the producer. In late 2005, reports suggested thatAsin would play the leading female role, while Suryah developed the project alongside his commitments as an actor.^[33][34] However, by early 2006, Vijay dropped out of the project after Suryah had refused to make alterations to the script.^[35] In January 2006,Isai was reported to be back under way with eitherS. S. Chakravarthy orNavodaya Appachan being producer and it was suggested that the film would be about a "cunning assistant music director comes to the top".^[36] Other reports had also suggested that the film told the tale of the tensions between South Indian musiciansIlaiyaraaja andA. R. Rahman. However the film failed to materialise again, and Suryah postponed production work. Following the postponement of several of his projects, Suryah revealed in April 2006 that he would direct and star in a venture titledPesum Deivangal for children and family audiences, in an attempt to remove the "sleazy" image he had been associated to in films. Despite pre-production works being carried out, the film also failed to materialise.^[37]

Following the positive reception he received on his acting withNew andAnbe Aaruyire, Suryah chose to take a break from directing and opted to act in films directed by other film makers. He was cast as a casanova in Tamilvannan's romantic comedyKalvanin Kadhali (2006) oppositeNayantara, and the film garnered the industry's anticipation prior to release.^[38] It eventually won average reviews and performed well at the box office, with a critic noting "Suryah is improving with each film though he hams the usual way."^[39] He had two releases as an actor in 2007, withSakthi Chidambaram's science fiction comedyViyabari being the first release. Featuring in an ensemble cast, alongsideTamannaah,Namitha andVadivelu, Suryah was cast as a businessman who creates a clone of himself to care for his family and playing both roles, Suryah's performance was described as "outrageous, over the top and loud".^[40] Similarly, critics noted he is just "a limited actor who just walks through the first half effortlessly doing what he had done in his earlier films" for his performance inThirumagan.^[41] The failure of both films prompted another ongoing venture titledPandigai to be shelved, and Surya chose to concentrate instead on directing.^[42] He made a brief comeback as a lead actor in the psychological thrillerNewtonin Moondram Vidhi (2009), which won good reviews but only performed averagely at the box office.^[43]

Suryah announced he would re-begin work on his directorial venturePuli, but would instead make it as a Telugu film andPawan Kalyan would play the lead role.^[44] Produced by Singanamala Ramesh, he signed onA. R. Rahman to compose the film's music, while newcomerNikeesha Patel was selected to play the lead actress. The film took close to three years to produce and was faced delays at regular intervals.^[45] The film was finally released in September 2010 and received negative reviews from critics. A reviewer from Sify.com noted "the main problem with the film is that it does not have a credible story or script", adding that Suryah "has done a haphazard work in his writing. There is absolutely no consistency in characterization".^[46] Another critic noted Suryah "fails in the screenplay department" and the film has loopholes galore, labelling it as a "disappointment".^[47]

In between directorial commitments, he played guest roles inShankar'sNanban (2012) and as a film director in the horrorPizza 2: The Villa (2013). In 2011, Suryah announced that he would restartIsai and would compose music for the film himself after being recommended by A.R. Rahman, describing it as a "musical" which would explore the battle between a veteran and an emerging music composer.^[48][49] In May 2012, the film's first look posters were revealed, withSulagna Panigrahi, anOriya television and film actress introduced in the leading role under the new name Savithri. The film was shot for more than two years, undergoing a notable change in the film's antagonist fromPrakash Raj toSathyaraj in the midst of production. Suryah trained as a musician by taking lessons lasting up to ten hours for a six-month stretch.^[50]Isai finished post-production work in late 2014 and had a theatrical release in early 2015.^[51]

In 2016, Suryah acted in the drama film,Iraivi. His performance as an alcoholic and abusive director fetched highly positive reviews from both critics and audiences, for which he was nominated for national award. Later, Suryah signed and starred in two films,Spyder, a bilingual andMersal. He played the villain in both the movies.Spyder received mixed response, whereasMersal became a blockbuster hit.^[52] Suryah's performance inSpyder was widely appreciated. Suryah's 2019 venture isMonster, a comedy film co-starringPriya Bhavani Shankar and directed by Nelson Venkatesan ofOru Naal Koothu fame. The film released on 17 May 2019 to positive reviews from critics. Once again, Suryah's performance was critically praised.^[53]

In 2021, his filmNenjam Marappathillai directed bySelvaraghavan was released. S. J. Suryah completely steals the show as the lecherous businessman with a deadly performance. Undeniably, Ramsay is one of the finest yet entertaining characters of S. J. Suryah.^[54] Suryah's next venture was theVenkat Prabhu-directedMaanaadu (2021), starringSilambarasan andKalyani Priyadarshan. He played the role of a corrupt cop, his antagonistic role for the third time.^[55] This film received highly positive reviews and Suryah's performance was praised. He was seen inDon starringSivakarthikeyan, essaying the role of an antagonist for the fourth time. He was seen last time as a protagonist inKadamaiyai Sei which received negative response reviewers and mixed responses from the audience.^[56] He was last seen as protagonist inBommai (2023) a romantic thriller. In his most recent cinematic endeavor,Mark Antony (2023), he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of dual characters that are father and son, Jackie Pandian and Madan Pandian, expertly showcasing a distinctive contrast in their villainous personas through a uniquely whimsical approach. The next,Raghava Lawrence and S. J. Suryah acted together inKarthik Subbaraj's directorialJigarthanda DoubleX (2024), and the film turned out to be a huge hit.^[57] He appears as the lead antagonist inS. Shankar'sIndian 2 (2024).^[58] S. J. Suryah portrays the antagonist with a 'Wolf kind of character" inDhanush'sRaayan (2024).^[59] His next work isVeera Dheera Sooran (2025) with ChiyaanVikram in the lead role.^[60]

• Ishq Wala Love (2014; Marathi)
• Isai (2015)

• 144 (2015)
• Remo (2016)

• Honorary doctorate byVels University (2024)^[92]

• Kalaimamani (2025)- Contribution to the Tamil film industry^[93]

• Surya, S.J. atIMDb

• 1960s births
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• Loyola College, Chennai alumni
• Male actors from Tamil Nadu
• People from Tenkasi district
• Pseudonymous film directors
• Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu
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• Tamil film directors
• Tamil male actors
• Tamil-language playback singers
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