Happy birthday, Suriya: Let's take a look at some of the best performances of the Tamil star

New Delhi: Tamil superstar Suriya celebrates his birthday 45th birthday today and on his special day, his fans and well-wishers have set a buzz on social media with pictures and posters of him. The fan army has also dedicated a special birthday poster for Suriya. Since last evening the star is trending on social media. 

Suriya enjoys a massive fan following. He is loved by all for his choice of films, for being a great co-star and the family man he is. 

Born as Saravanan Sivakumar, actor Suriya made his acting debut in 1997 release 'Nerukku Ner'. However, his 2001 hit 'Nandha' earned him the star status, followed by 'Kaakha Kaakha' in 2003 and several other films.

Hence, on his birthday, let's take a look at some of the best performances of the Tamil star:

 'Nandha' 

This film remains to be his all-time successful project of his early days in the movie business. 'Nandha' was directed by Bala. It narrated the story of a young man trying to fit in the society after he comes out from a juvenile center. 'Nandha' was a critically acclaimed film and also starred Laila, Rajkiran, Karunas and Saravanan in pivotal roles.

'Pithamagan'

'Pithamagan', an action-drama film, was also directed by Bala. It starred Suriya and Vikram. Suriya played conman with a silver tongue. It is arguably one of his best performances while some thought it was Vikram's show. While Vikram won a National Award for 'Pithamagan', Suriya fetched a Filmfare Award for it.

'Kaakha Kaakha' 

Filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon directed Suriya in this 2003 action-thriller. He played a sauve police officer Anbuselvan opposite his wife Jyothika. 'Kaakha Kaakha' released to a blockbuster status and it was during the making of this film when Suriya and Jyothika fell in love.

'Ghajini'

'Ghajini', the 2005 action-thriller was directed by AR Murugadoss. It was based on Christopher Nolan's 'Memento'. 'Ghajini' remains to be Suriya's one of the biggest blockbusters of his career. He played the role of a man suffering from short term memory loss after the murder of his girlfriend. Asin starred as his love interest.

'Vaaranam Aayiram'

'Vaaranam Aayiram' marked Suriya's second collaboration with Gautham Vasudev Menon. It starred him in a double role opposite three actresses - Simran, Divya Spandana, and Sameera Reddy. It emerged as the biggest blockbuster for Suriya after 'Ghajini' and is one of the 10 best Tamil films of 2008. 'Vaaranam Aayiram' captured the essence of a father-son relationship.

'Rakht Charitra 2'

Suriya's role in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rakht Charitra' remains to be his most under-rated performance but it deserves a mention. It was a sequel to the crime drama of the same name and marked the debut Suriya into the Telugu and Hindi film industries. His role as Yeturi Suryanarayana Reddy was way more convincing. 

'24'

'24' is a science fiction action film written and directed by Vikram Kumar. It starred Suriya in a triple role, along with Nithya Menen and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The National Award-winning film saw Suriya as also a convincing antagonist. 

Apart from the aforementioned films, other notable performances of his are in films such as 'Perazhagan', 'Ayan', 'Singam' trilogy, '7aum Arivu' and others.

Happy birthday, Suriya!