South Indian filmmaker and actor, S.J. Suryah had an opportunity to pursue engineering, however, as he wanted to become an actor he declined the offer. Before making a mark in the film industry, filmmaker and actor S. J Suryah, worked in hotels and as a steward to make his ends meet. After watching the premiere show of the movie Vaali, producer A. M. Rathnam offered filmmaker Suryah to work on the movie Kushi, which was later released in 2000 and went on to become a box office hit. In 2005, filmmaker and actor Surya was arrested for allegedly throwing a mobile phone at one of the women censor board officials during the controversy of his film Naani.