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S. Justin Selvaraj was his name, but he started using S.J. Suryah after beginning his Tamil film industry career.

Suryah completed his schooling in Vasudevanallur, a town located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. He completed his graduation in Physics at Loyola College in Chennai.

After completing his education, Suryah stayed back in Chennai to try his luck in the Tamil film industry. To sustain himself, he started doing odd jobs, such as working as a steward and cashier in hotels.

During this phase of his life, he used to work for eight hours in hotels and utilised the remaining hours to meet directors and gain knowledge about directing films.

After struggling for six years, he received the opportunity to work in a Bhagyaraja film as an apprentice. Before directing his first film, he worked as an assistant director in films like Aasai (1995) and Sundara Purushan (1996).

Suryah debuted as a director with Vaalee (1999), a romantic psychological thriller with Ajith Kumar, Simran, and Jyotika playing the lead roles. The film became a hit at the box office.

Suryah went on to hone his skills as a director with Kushi (2000), a romantic comedy film starring Kushi (2000) and Kushi (2000). This film also proved to be a commercially successful venture, and it was remade in Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada. Suryah directed the Hindi and Telugu versions of the film as well.

In 2004, Suryah made his debut as an actor with his third directorial venture, New (2004). It was a science fiction comedy film with Simran playing the female lead opposite him. He simultaneously directed the Telugu version of the film Naani (2004), with Mahesh Babu and Ameesha Patel as the leading pair.

Suryah's next movie was Ah Aah: Anbe Aaruyire (2005), in which he paired up with newcomer Meera Chopra. He was also the writer, director, and producer of the film.

For the next few years, Suryah concentrated on his acting career. He acted in films like Kalvanin Kadhali (2006), Thirumagan (2007), Vyabari (2007), and Newtonin Moondram Vidhi (2009).

In 2010, he made his comeback as a director with Komaram Puli (2010), an action thriller with Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. His next film as a director was Isai (2015), and he also played the lead role in this movie.

After some guest appearances, Suryah acted in a full-fledged role in Iraivi (2016). The following year, he played a negative role in Spyder (2017) and Mersal (2017).

Suryah won the best villain award for his role in Spyder (2017) at the 10th Vijay Awards, held in 2018. While the film grossed more than INR 100 crores worldwide, it wasn't considered a profitable venture due to its high production cost.

Mersal (2017) was a blockbuster hit that won him the SIIMA Award (Tamil) for Best Actor in a Negative Role in 2018.

In Monster (2019), Suryah appeared in a lead role along with Karunakaran and Priya Bhavani Shankar. The comedy film received good reviews from critics.

His next film was Nenjam Marappathillai (2021), a horror film directed by K. Selvaraghavan. Suryah's other release of 2021 was Maanaadu (2021), a science fiction action thriller that became one of the year's highest-grosses in Tamil films.

Suryah essayed a negative role in Don (2022), another blockbuster film that earned more than INR 100 crores. He was next seen in Venkat Raghavan's Kadamaiyai Sei (2022), a psychological action comedy drama.

Apart from films, Suryah has acted in Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie (2022), a TV series belonging to the mystery crime thriller genre.

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