Kanguva star Suriya's inspiring speech: From factory worker to Tamil superstar

Tamil superstar Suriya delivered an inspiring speech at an event organized by his foundation, Agaram, which sponsors school education for children from underprivileged backgrounds. Recalling the spark that motivated him to launch this project to make education more accessible to the downtrodden, he also shared lessons he learned from his own life.

Suriya, the son of seasoned actor Sivakumar, had no plans to follow in his father's footsteps. After graduation, he took up a job at a factory and slowly drifted away from the film industry.

ALSO READ: Suriya-Vetrimaaran's Vaadivaasal is a risky production: Producer finally breaks silence amid shelving rumours

"Mind is steering; we should direct it towards our goals. I didn't achieve anything in school or college. I worked in the garment industry for three years. I was not happy with that job. And I took a small U-turn in my life," said Suriya.

Suriya decided to take a chance on the movies, hoping it would be as kind and generous to him as it was to his father. Being the son of an influential and veteran actor, Suriya may not have found it difficult to land his first movie. He made his acting debut with Nerrukku Ner in 1997, which also starred Thalapathy Vijay as one of the leads. Bankrolled by Mani Ratnam and helmed by Vasanth, the story about a family feud was a big commercial and critical success.

However, Suriya faced a lot of criticism for his lack of talent in acting and poor dancing skills for a few years before he reinvented himself with movies like Nandha, Mounam Pesiyadhe, Kaakha Kaakha, and Pithamagan, to name a few. He became a top star in Tamil cinema in the early 2000s and continues to retain that position even after two decades.

"I didn't know that I would stand before the camera five days before the shoot. After the release of Nerrukku Ner, I started wondering whether I deserved all this love and applause. That became a driving factor in my life to be disciplined and work hard to make myself worthy of your love. If I can do it, you can too," Suriya remarked.

Suriya is now waiting for the release of Kanguva, the most expensive film in his career. The film is expected to expand his fan base beyond the South Indian states.

Enjoy 35+ OTTs like ZEE5, LionsgatePlay, Ullu, SunNXT, SonyLIV, Fancode and 250+ Live TV channels at just ₹99