The film industry is in the business of selling dreams in more ways than one. If the audience throngs to the theatres every Friday for escapism, numerous head to the industry with stars in their eyes and the hope of making it big. There’s one such 49-year-old actor from the Tamil film industry who worked as a daily wage labourer, grinded for decades as a supporting actor, and finally got his break as a lead actor. He has acted with some of the biggest names from the industry, including Vijay, Rajinikanth, and Sivakarthikeyan. Today, he has ₹50 crore hits to his name.
Doing odd jobs for ₹20 per day
In 1993, this actor was working odd jobs with his friends in Tiruppur. He made ₹20 per day and at the end of the week, made ₹140. ₹70, of which he had to send home. He couldn’t even afford a coconut bun, which cost ₹1.25, so he often settled for just tea. Meet Ramalakshmanan Muthuchamy Thevar. A self-declared ‘crazy fan’ of Rajinikanth who changed his name to Surya, inspired by the star’s character in the 1991 Mani Ratnam movie Thalapathi. Today, he is known as an actor in his own right, Soori.