Soori (actor)

Soori moved from Madurai to Chennai in 1996 with the intention of becoming an actor in the Tamil film industry. After failing to get any roles, he took up work in the city as a cleaner to fund his acting ambitions.^[2]

He played occasional uncredited roles in films as a junior artiste, appearing especially in comedy scenes, such as in Winner (2003).^[2] and thereafter Ezhil's Deepavali.

Soori notably appeared in the critical and commercial hit film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu (2009). The suffix "parotta" was soon attached to his name because of the film's famous 'parotta competition' scene, in which Soori's character stuns a hotelier by eating 50 parottas and getting ready to eat the same number once again.^[3] He later appeared in a number of films in well-received comedic and sidekick roles, such as Poraali (2011), Sundarapandian (2012), Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013), and Jilla (2014).^[4] His supporting roles were also praised in Rajini Murugan (2016) Idhu Namma Aalu (2016), Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran (2016), and Sangili Bungili Kadhava Thorae (2017).

In 2018, he was seen in both Sivakarthikeyan's Seema Raja and Vikram's Saamy Square. However, his comedic performances in these two films were heavily criticised, prompting Soori himself to respond.^[5] He went on to have back-to-back releases with the successful Namma Veettu Pillai (2019) and the panned Sangathamizhan (2019).^[6]

In 2023, Soori was cast against type as the main protagonist of Vetrimaaran's period crime thriller, Viduthalai Part 1. His performance garnered highly positive appreciation from critics as well as audiences.^[7] This was followed by leading roles in Garudan (2024), a neo-noir action film, and Kottukkaali (2024), a drama-comedy about caste, as well as Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai (2024), a period-bending romantic drama. All three films widely received critical acclaim for their direction and performances, with Kottukkali and Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai being screened at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival and the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam respectively.

After watching Thalapathi (1991), Muthuchamy adopted the protagonist's name, Surya, which was shortened to 'Soori' after he entered cinema.^[8]

Soori lives in a joint family and has six siblings. He is married and has a son and a daughter.^[9]