Suraj Venjaramoodu

Suraj Venjaramoodu, honestly, he's a total powerhouse in Malayalam cinema—over 250 films, can you imagine? Born into a family with a solid army background (his dad and big bro both served), Suraj actually dreamed of joining the army too, but a nasty bike crash derailed those plans. Instead, he took a wild left turn and ended up making people laugh for a living. Studied mechanical engineering, but, you know, life had other plans. He kicked off his career as a stand-up comedian. His debut in Jagapoga back in 2002—yeah, he played Pachan and Dadasahib—sort of set the tone for his early days. After that, he started popping up in a bunch of films—Rasikan, Bus Conductor, Achuvinte Amma, Rasathanthram. The real breakthrough? Thuruppu Gulan, where he teamed up with Mammootty and suddenly, everyone knew his name. Then came hits like Classmates, Chota Mumbai, and Mayavi. He just kept leveling up. By 2009, he landed his first hero role in Duplicate, plus the Dasamoolam Damu character from Chattambinadu—fans still quote him, no joke. Roles like Idivettu Sugunan in Pokkiri Raja and a string of comedies and dramas followed. In 2013, Perariyathavar snagged him the National Award for Best Actor. Not many comedians pull that off! From there, Suraj started flexing his serious-actor muscles—films like Karingunnam 6’s and Oru Muthassi Gadha, but he never ditched comedy for long. He’s picked up a trophy case of awards, from Kerala State to Asianet to SIIMA. Whether he's making you laugh or hitting you right in the feels, Suraj is basically unstoppable.