When SJ Suryah turned director with Vaali starring Kollywood star Ajith Kumar in 1999, no one imagined that the film would run for 270 days in theatres across Tamil Nadu. Now, 25 years later no one imagined that SJ Suryah would become one of the top ‘villains’ in south cinema starring alongside heroes like Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, Nani and Dhanush. (Also Read: SJ Suryah steals the show in Saripodhaa Sanivaaram ) The Kushi director reportedly pockets around ₹ 8 to ₹ 10 crore per film as an actor and seems to be in the best phase of his life at the age of 56.
According to the film trade, SJ Suryah is getting paid a much higher remuneration than the other famous B-Town villains in the south, namely Sunjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan and Bobby Deol. Interestingly, the Isai director is one of the few Kollywood directors-turned-actors who have been extremely successful in the last few years as an actor. Directors like Samuthirakani, Gautham Vasudev Menon (GVM), Sasikumar, Cheran and Sundar C have all stepped into the acting realm and only some, like GVM and Sundar C, still continue to direct.
But the stupendous success that SJ Suryah has achieved in front of the camera is incomparable – in fact, he has become more popular than some mainstream heroes. The lucky mascot After Vaali, SJ Suryah delivered one of the biggest blockbusters in Tamil cinema with Thalapathy Vijay – Kushi. The director even went on to direct the film in Telugu with Powersta.