Actor Suriya Reveals How Family Financial Needs Led Him To Acting Career

Here’s how financial issues forced Suriya to act.

Did you know that Tamil superstar Suriya got his start in the film industry because of some serious financial struggles in his family? Before becoming a household name, he worked at a garment factory. As a trainee, he made just INR 750 every 15 days, which was later downgraded to INR 1,200 a month. He spent about two to three years in the garment industry, earning around INR 8,000 monthly.

Things took a turn when his mother revealed she had taken out a loan of INR 25,000 without his father knowing. Surya was caught off guard. Given that his father was an actor, it was surprising to him that they were dealing with such financial issues. His mother explained that their bank balance never really went above one and a half lakh, and his father wasn’t one to chase after his salary; he just waited patiently for it to come in. Surya remembered that his dad hadn’t had steady work for more than six to ten months at a time, which hit Surya hard and made Suriya realize the reality of their situation.

Suriya had plenty of opportunities to act as the son of an actor, but a consistent push from Mani Ratnam’s production helped kickstart his career. Suriya has mentioned that he only accepted his first role to help pay off his mom’s loan. Before that, he never really imagined he’d have a career in films at all. It’s wild to think that a chance to repay his mom’s loan led him to become a superstar.

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