Suraj (born December 31, 1977) is an Indian film director who works primarily in

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

. He is best known for directing

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and

masala film Masala films of Indian cinema mix multiple genres into one work. Masala films emerged in the 1970s and are still created as of the 2020s. Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, romance, and drama or melodrama. They also tend to be ...

Career

In 1996, Suraj began working as an assistant director to Sundar C. on his comedy films ''

Ullathai Allitha ''Ullathai Allitha'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Sundar C. The film stars Karthik, Rambha and Goundamani, with Manivannan, Jai Ganesh, Senthil, and Jyothi Meena in supporting roles. It revolves around a ...

'' and ''

Mettukudi ''Mettukudi'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language comedy film directed by Sundar C. starring Karthik (actor), Karthik, Gemini Ganesan, Goundamani, Nagma and Manivannan. The music was composed by Sirpy with cinematography by U. K. ...

''. In 1997, he continued to assist Sundar C. on '' Arunachalam'' starring

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

and he was the co-director of the film ''

Janakiraman ''Janakiraman'' is a 1997 Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Sundar C. The film stars Sarathkumar and Nagma whilst Rambha, Goundamani and Manivannan play supporting roles. The film was one among 1997 Deepavali releases and became a ...

''. Then, Suraj returned to assist Sundar C. in his films. In 2006, he made his directorial comeback through ''

Thalai Nagaram ''Thalai Nagaram'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action crime film written and directed by Suraj and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Sundar C and Jyothirmayi, while Vadivelu, Prakash Raj, Bose Venkat, Judo. K. K. Rathnam, and K. ...

'', starring his mentor Sundar C.,

Jyothirmayi Jyothirmayi is an Indian actress, television presenter, and former model, who works in Malayalam cinema. Starting her career as a model, she ventured into television, working as an anchor and later starring numerous Television show. Career J ...

and

Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the 2 ...

. The following year, Suraj made his third film ''

Marudhamalai Marudhamalai, also Maruthamalai or Marudamalai, is a suburb of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located along the Western Ghats, from Coimbatore. It is currently part of 17th ward of Coimbatore Corporation. It was part of Periyanaicken ...

'', featured Arjun, Nila and again comedian Vadivelu. In 2009, he directed '' Padikathavan'' starring

Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...

Tamannaah Tamanna Bhatia (born 21 December 1989), known professionally as Tamannaah, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Telugu and Tamil films, along with a few Hindi films. In 2005, she made her acting debut at the age of 15 in the Hindi fi ...

and due his busy schedule, Vadivelu has been replaced by comedian

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

. The film was distributed by Sun Pictures. In 2011, he made '' Mappillai'', remake of the 1989 film '' Mappillai''. The film starring

, Hansika Motwani and

Manisha Koirala Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu language, Telugu, Bengali language, Bengali, Mala ...

. The film received mixed reviews, but the film became a hit at the box office. After Mappillai Suraj directed ''

Alex Pandian ''Alex Pandian'' is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Suraj that features Karthi and Anushka Shetty, with Karthi in the title role, while Santhanam, Milind Soman, Suman, Prathap Pothen and Nikita Thukr ...

'' starring

Karthi Karthik Sivakumar (born 25 May 1977), better known by his stage name Karthi, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has won three Filmfare Awards South, an Edison Award, a SIIMA Award and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. ...

and Anushka Shetty. The film released on 11 January 2013. After Alex Pandian's failure, Suraj directed '' Sakalakala Vallavan'' starring

Jayam Ravi Mohan Ravi (born 10 September 1980), better known by his stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He has won a Filmfare Award and three SIIMA Awards. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his ...

, Anjali and

Trisha Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia. Notable people and characters with the name include: People *Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983) * Trisha Baptie (born 197 ...

. The film released on 31 July 2015. He later directed ''

Kaththi Sandai ''Kaththi Sandai'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Suraj (director), Suraj. The film is produced by S. Nanthagopal. The film features Vishal (actor), Vishal and Tamannaah in the lead r ...

'' starring Vishal. In 2022, Suraj directed ''

Naai Sekar Returns ''Naai Sekar Returns'' is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language comedy film produced by Subaskaran Allirajah and written and directed by Suraj. The film stars Vadivelu in his comeback film after five years, while Sivaangi Krishnakumar, Anandaraj, Rao ...

'', to

’s character in ''

'' (2006) in which he plays a laughably over-the-top rowdy called Naai Sekar.https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/naai-sekar-returns-review-lacklustre-comeback-vadivelu-170789

Filmography

As director

As Writer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suraj Tamil film directors Living people Film directors from Tamil Nadu 1977 births Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu Tamil screenwriters 21st-century Indian film directors