All,
I finished reading my first book “Ippadikku Suriya” as per my book read plan and here I am sharing my experience in reading it.
I was actually not aware that this popular actor of Thamizhnadu has published an autobiography book with title ‘Ippadikku Suriya’ sharing most of his inner feelings , his struggle to come up, his love affairs etc. Having seen this book accidentally in the ‘odyssey’ shop nearby my house , I quickly browsed through some of the pages…and I was able to see many unrevealed photographs of this actor , jo and several others. And immediately I decided to buy it, mainly for those photographs and secondly to know the love affair secrets of this actor with cute JO.
Well. Where should I start? Okay…After reading this book, I could see that the whole book speaks about one thing about him primarily – “Inferiority Complex”. Yes this man had suffered greatly out of this character of him.
There are people who dive deep into the ocean to get the pearls but end up in losing their lives and there are people who dive into the ocean to die but come up taking pearls from it. Yes. This actor falls into the second category. Right from his childhood he seems like having a bitter experience, especially after the birth of his younger brother karthik (Paruthiveeran fame). Karthik used to be a bubbly chubby specimen and like a ‘chellapillai’ (pet) of his family and that explains everything. Our man has started isolating himself right from there.
Well. The book actually starts with a nice incident from his life. Saravanan(Actor suriya`s real name) seemed to be standing in a shooting spot in an ECR resort (ada namma area) and a tea seller has struggled hard to somehow meet him in person and has thanked him very much for transforming his life. The tea seller (who actually has no job initially) actually had plans of committing suicide and after watching the ‘Mayavi’ movie of this actor, has undergone a metamorphosis. So he starts selling tea in ECR beaches and now he is happy. Wow. That’s a good feedback for an actor right?
Again as I was continuing reading the book , frankly I lost the interest in subsequent chapters as it became like an acknowledgement chapters where Saravanan (Actor Suriya) starts thanking and acknowledging his appa, amma, teachers, friends and the list continues in thanking his car driver, his paati, thatha , mama, athai , akka etc.
Having seen this actor`s transformation in Big screen after ‘Nanda’ , ‘Pithamagan’ and ‘Kakka kakka’ , I was looking for some thing from this book which will make readers understand how he struggled to undergo this change…But that was not there in the first several chapters.
But Yes! After some 20 chapters the actor comes to the point…and there is the take-off. I was waiting for this page to come up and had to read several pages before for this. After this take-off page the book pages are in fire mode and I could not stop reading it. Lovely incidents and lovely narration.
Though I am not going to explain everything over here, however wanted to post some of the facts which are unknown to most of us and which made me wonder at this man and these facts. Here are these tit-bits:
- Suriya likes very much waiting in Traffic signal for that he feels waiting for that 3-5 min atleast makes us spend some time for our SELF a day. (good. good)
- When his near and dear people started asking him what he wishes to become in his child hood , this man has taken a brick piece and wrote very big on the wall that “I WANT TO DIE”…such a stunning ‘complex’ within himself for not liking his relationship with others. (reminds me of some of my olden days too…)
- He says his acting in a movie scene like a ‘dead body’ in Pithamagan was a terrific experience for him. You lie down with a real costume and with all those incense sticks and garlands near by and all others around mourning over your death…he recommends “If every individual undergoes this kind of experience once in his/her life…that is enough. This will reveal the real meaning of life”. (Quite true! )
- By the time while shooting HUT-breaking-and-falling-down scene in ‘Kakka Kakka’ the entire team has gone into a financial crisis and JO has contributed 3 L from her dad, and Suriya contributed some amount selling his sister’s jewels and Menon too sold some jewels of his. The entire scene was taken in one shot and Menon was feeling so proud of suriya for finishing it in one shot.
- He has been a very very good boy in his class… when sometimes even not willing to join his friends in viewing ‘matter’ book and not ready to join them in bar etc. When his friends started making fun of him saying like a “fruit boy”…actor sivakumar his father, by himself had offered him a peg of vodka… ( J )
- Till 22 years of his life he never stepped into any film studio
- He studied in Loyola college…used to go in PTC bus boarding at Pondy bazaar…and he has got ragged by his college seniors to go and cross the ribbon building main road and go to a ladies costumes selling shop and buy colour ribbons saying like “you want to buy for your girl friend” (hmph! seems to be simple…I ve done body massages even… L )
- The one who comes in ‘Mounam pesiyadhe’ movie cursing suriya like Dae…nee oru jeans poatta saguni’ is his real and dear friend in life.
- Before entering film career he has worked in a Garment export shop for a monthly salary of Rs.1200 and used to take the clothes from ambattur-kelambakkam – via Tiruvanmiyur (ada…namma area!) and sholinganallur.
- The dhaadi (beard) he has in ‘Mounam pesiyadhe’ – he had grown it by not shaving for 14 months continuously
- While acting in ‘Naerukku naer’ his first movie…his first scene was like he must make simran lie down on his lap…and kiss her…he says he had the Most nervous experience that time as simran felt him like a very shy guy. (actually…romba kashtam dhan)
- Suriya`s mom did not speak to him for about 2 weeks for having seen him acting like a ‘dead body’ in ‘Nanda’ movie
- After ‘poovellam kettupar’ shooting once suriya in a restaurant seemed to be eating Biryani happily. Director vasanth had scolded him like “All this eating stuffs you’ll do nicely. But not in your performance in front of the camera”…and Suriya dint have his food properly the next 2 days. ( L starvation …is a worst feeling)
Last few chapters of the book but not the least chapters and the main entry – JO >>>
Well. If I share the love episode here then that is not fair at all. All the book pages – right from Jo`s entry – is so sweeeet and I loved it very much. I would prefer one should buy this book if at all they wish to know the love episode seriously. Anyone willing to know all that romance things happened between these couple can go for buying it. I can just share one incident here…
- For the success of KK I would say it’s not Suriya`s self-confidence but its only the Jo`s confidence. Yes! It is she who called him personally and asked him to do that Anbuselvan.IPS. Role in KK. And the love chemistry has worked out very well in the screen which we all of us know
Now…What is that I learn from this guy’s life? Well…apart from the ‘I.Complex’ the character in him that I like is that …you keep doing your efforts…whether you like it or not or whether you get the results or not”. You keep doing it…we do not know when it will influence some one…like that tea-seller getting transformed in his life…when we keep doing our efforts…If someday somehow someone and at some moment – if your effort makes ONE person atleast to dream more, believe more, do more and become more…then your effort has served its right purpose. Right?
Well. Again…How can any guy can sit idle when his dream girl comes and wishes him for his performance and suggests him something to do better. I would say that’s something like drinking 12 bottles of vitamin tonic at one shot for any damn pathetic guy…and I have experienced the power of such wishes – having lost a girl whom I had a big crush in my college who just wished me for a New year. Infact I would say All these inferiority complex, shyness etc are very normal inbuilt-traits of any below-average-looking-guy. But all do not come up in their life. For that one needs a ‘JO’-like character entry in their life which will not happen so easily and needs some special ‘blessings’ from God. ( L )
Ippadikku
D.K.Suriya Narayanan
