Trimurthi Series

Childhood to Adulthood

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there lived a boy called Saravanan. This boy was an introvert, shy to the point of being a recluse, timid and stubborn.

He was the apple of his mother’s eyes; his father was a strict disciplinarian, conservative and a person who loved his children never expressed in words. Saravanan grew up with two siblings, both very different from him in nature and temperament. Relatives say, when they used to visit the family, Saravanan used to just mumble a few words of greetings and run off to his room or outside. It was said, he was typical Mama’s boy.

His friend’s circle was limited and the only person apart from friends who he felt close to was his Mother. As the years rolled by, he grew distant from his father and siblings. His insecurities and complexities were such that he preferred his own company. People who knew him even then say only one thing. Saravanan was good boy. His heart was pure and he had no malice towards anyone. Though at times, he used to feel jealous towards his younger brother, an extrovert, who was witty and hogged limelight during get-togethers or those times when he felt his mother, was not attending to him first. However, these were rare occasions and on the whole it was pretty uneventful childhood.

At school, his teachers remember him as an average to above average student. He may not have excelled in any studies or extra-curricular activities but he was an obedient student who didn’t give trouble to teachers.

Years went by, the father; a strict disciplinarian was getting concerned about his eldest son. He felt that being the eldest, he should be mature and responsible. Saravavan in many ways was still like a child, protected by his mother with absolutely no idea about the cruel world outside. He lived in his own cocoon with his own insecurities and complexities. They didn’t make him depressed or overtly sad but from time to time they would rear their head but Saravanan after few hours of brooding would brush them off.

After graduation, Saravananfelt totally adrift. He had no idea on what he wished to do further. Neither was he a top performer in academics nor was he interested to study further. He was kind of drifting around aimlessly. Producers and Directors who used to frequent the house to meet the Father asked Saravanan to give acting a shot. Saravanan was scared and refused them on every occasion.

The father by now had enough. He decided it was high time for him to intervene and set up things for his son if he could not decide about his own future. Relatives of the family were into Garment export business and he proposed to them to take his son and teach him business. Thus, began the journey of an innocent youth called Saravanan.

Saravanan to Suriya - First Major decision of life

Co-workers at the garment factory didn’t know about the identity of Saravanan for over 6 months. After working for few years, he got bored and felt the work was monotonous. Again, his indecisiveness took over and he started to feel adrift and insecure. His younger brother, the witty extrovert got B Tech degree and was applying to universities abroad for scholarship to study further.

Saravanan once again was at his wit’s end. His friends asked him to start his own garment company since they felt his father had enough money to invest. However, more than the money, Saravanan was not clear if he really wished to start his own company. Meanwhile, a Director named Vasanth, a family friend who had asked Saravanan two years back to debut in his movie again requested him to do so in the new movie he was scheduled to begin shortly.

Saravanan still confused however agreed to pose for photos and those pictures when they eventually came out, gave some confidence to Saravanan that perhaps acting can be given a shot. Vasanth’s mentor, Mani Rathnam re-christened Saravavan to Suriya. By agreeing to act, Saravanan took his first major decision in life.

The first movie co-starred his college mate and was a middling success. But, Suriya was unhappy and frustrated. He felt he had two left feet, felt he was too stiff in emotional scenes, was not able to take cue to land punches in action scenes.

His father took decisions on which movie he should star in because Suriya was such a person that he liked all the stories he heard but he used to get cold feet when it came to commitment. Four years passed in this fashion, movies came and went. People said, “ Yes, he is a good person. Comes on set on time, we give him instructions and he follows them to the best of his ability.” That in nutshell was how directors described Suriya in the early years.

Till date, it remains a mystery to many as to when Suriya contemplated his choice of movies and what made him sign a movie called Nandha.His close friend an actor who juggles Hindi and tamil movies told us once, “ Suriya is an intelligent guy but someone who hates putting off people or getting into unpleasant situations. This trait makes him prone to taking a long time in deciding.” What he meant was, Suriya felt his father would be unhappy if he decided to take reins in his own hands and decide which movie to do or not do.

The story goes, when Director Bala met the Father with the script of Nandha, he was quite impressed but he was unsure if Suriya would be able to pull off such a role. Fortunately, Suriya who by this time had done some amount of thinking on where he saw his career headed, readily agreed and signed. This was the second major decision taken by Suriya in his life. (To be continued in Part 2)

In Part 2, the positive and not so positive results of the above decision will be highlighted.

- Vibha Saini