Suriya shares that he became an actor to pay an INR 25k loan taken by his mother; says, ‘I never thought I’d be in the film industry’

Popular Tamil actor Suriya revealed in a recent interview that his journey into the film industry was not a deliberate choice but rather a necessity to repay a loan his mother had taken.

While Suriya’s father, Sivakumar, is a well-known actor, Suriya himself had initially planned to pursue a business career. In an interview, the artiste shared that he worked in the garment industry, earning a modest salary of INR750 for 15 days of work.

However, fate had other plans. Suriya's mother, Lakshmi, disclosed that she had taken a loan of INR25,000 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 the actor.

This revelation prompted Suriya to reconsider his career path and enter the film industry to repay the loan. He added, “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 INR 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.”

Despite not having any prior aspirations to become an actor, Suriya received numerous offers due to his father’s fame. He eventually made his debut with the 1997 film Nerrukku Ner.

Now, Suriya is a celebrated actor with a successful career in Tamil cinema. He is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming film Kanguva, where he will be seen in a dual role. The film directed by Siva also stars Bobby Deol and Disha Patani and is scheduled to hit theatres on November 14.