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One day in the life of … a movie star

Being Saravanan aka Suriya

Photos: Sudhish Kamath

Reel and real Suriya on the sets of ‘Ayan’ and interacting with his fans

It’s a weekend but for Suriya, there’s no such thing as a holiday. One day, he’s in a story discussion in Mumbai and on the other he’s in Hyderabad for an ad shoot. No wonder Jyotika got him a mug with a picture of their pretty daughter Diya and a caption that reads: “My Dad has a part-time job. That’s me.”

And, early on Monday morning, he’s up before five a.m. so that he can leave for the shoot location that is “halfway to Tirupati,” as he calls it. “Do you still want to come?” he messages me, saying he has a car waiting to pick me up from AVM Studios.

“Jo’s career has always been as busy as this. I’ve been this busy only in the last two years,” he smiles. “Usually I start my day with a workout but I got home late last night and had to reach here early morning. So, I didn’t have the time,” he says, filling me in on his routine as stunt-master Kanal Kannan plans a fancy bike shot with director K.V.Anand outside a temple in Thiruninravur for his action entertainer ‘Ayan’.

The scene requires Suriya to do a wheelie and the bike is all wired up for the trick shot.

“AVM’s production planning is so thorough. We have a song sequence in Namibia and two-and-a-half months before the shoot, they already know what time a train would pass the frame,” he says.

Between takes, he obliges women and children with autographs. “I ask them to study well.” It was in this very street in Thiruninravur that as Bala’s Nanda, he searched for his mother years ago. Do they ask him to name babies? “In the villages, sometimes, but I tell them to ask their elders.”

As we sit in his air-conditioned vanity van, I ask him how he prepares for a role. “I try to be as real as possible. Acting is a mix of instinct, intelligence and common sense.”

He points out he’s wearing a wig because he had to cut his hair too short for ‘Vaarnam Aayiram’. “Since you didn’t realise it, I don’t have to worry even if I go bald,” he laughs.

Did Aamir Khan call him to find out how he prepared for ‘Ghajini’? “He could have managed it by himself but he kept calling to ask specifics on what stunts I did myself. Actually, he inspired me to get a six-pack. Over the last one-and-a-half years, he’s been like a brother. I dubbed for ‘Vaal Natchithiram,’ the Tamil version of ‘Taare Zameen Par’. I fully understood it only while dubbing, because I don’t know Hindi. He was so touched that I didn’t take money for it. He got me a Macbook Air,” beams Suriya.

The scene being shot involves him arriving at the temple with Tamanna. On seeing his mother at the temple, he skids and turns the bike at a 180-degree angle (a stunt he does himself) as the stunt double for Tamanna (a man in drag and a wig) falls off the bike into the sand pit around. This is canned by about 2.30 p.m. as Suriya decides to help himself to lunch. I notice he eats very little. “I eat many small meals, I try to avoid carbohydrates.”

He wants to be in a position where he can put on his six-pack with just 20-25 days of workout. “It is unrealistic to maintain a six-pack round the year. I couldn’t eat rice or bread or milk products, had to avoid even salt and stick to salad and chicken.”

Stars usually use combination of ‘Puratchi’ or ‘Ilaya’ or ‘Thalapathy’ with variations of ‘Kalaignar’ or ‘Star’ or ‘Nayakan’. He laughs. “As it is I have changed my name from Saravanan to Suriya, I don’t want another name.”

Unlike other stars who sulk in the face of criticism, Suriya chooses to ignore it. “There were days I used to beg for my salary and say: All I am asking is money for my two-and-a-half months of work. I didn’t want my dad to go and act in some TV serial.”

How has being in a family of actors helped? “If I find a script interesting, I would show it to Jo. She may laugh at it. But, Karthi may give me another perspective.” Apparently, he never advises Karthi. “When he signed his first film, I told him to trust Ameer.”

As it’s time for the shot, his assistant helps him into his costume again. Suriya’s crew of staffers includes his driver Shanmugam, who has been with him for 25 years, and his ‘Man Friday’ Kumar, who has been with him for the past 10 years. Suriya makes it a point to spend time with his fans once a month and the Agaram Foundation keeps him busy even between takes.

I notice he hardly interacts with Tamanna during the day apart from the pleasantries. Does Jyotika have a problem if he does intimate scenes with his co-stars? “Anybody will have a problem. I am equally possessive,” he laughs. How did he fall in love with Jyotika if that’s the distance he keeps? “It happened when we were not acting together. I was basically her fan, then I became her friend, then co-star.”

Since the shoot ends only around eight, Suriya has to cancel his dubbing session for ‘Varanam Aayiram.’ By the time he reaches home, it would be 16 hours since he last saw his daughter and wife. Back at the temple, however, the hundred odd people got a glimpse of their demi-god.

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