Karuppu, Vishwanath and Sons, Suriya 47: 3 films, 3 genres, Suriya's bet is on

Suriya is lining up Karuppu, Vishwanath and Sons and Suriya 47 with three different directors. The slate underscores his push for a box office turnaround through sharply contrasting roles.

In Short

• Karuppu casts Suriya as Saravanan, a lawyer possessed by a deity
• Vishwanath and Sons follows an ageing shooter pursuing ambition and love
• Suriya 47 is a cop comedy where the police team is as unserious as the crime is serious

A fantasy action drama where a lawyer gets possessed by a deity. A large-scale family drama about a middle-aged man chasing his passion well into his 40s. A cop comedy where the police team is as unserious as the crime is serious. Sounds like three different actors, right?

Only it's the same man – Suriya. And the three synopses describe his upcoming films respectively – Karuppu, Vishwanath and Sons, Suriya 47.

Suriya has never really been the kind of star who plays it safe. But what he is doing right now — juggling three wildly different films back to back — is something else entirely. And it says a lot about where he is in his career and what he wants from it.

It has been over a decade since Suriya has had a blockbuster in terms of box office numbers. While his films, Soorarai Pottru and Jai Bhim, received overwhelming reviews, they were directly released on OTT. However, his last few films, Etharkkum Thunindhavan, Kanguva and Retro, despite having novel ideas, failed to rake in numbers at the box office.

Suriya is now pinning his hopes on his upcoming films and all three of them are with promising directors. Will it lend a helping hand to him? Let's find out!

First up is Karuppu, directed by RJ Balaji. The film follows a lawyer who becomes possessed by a deity and takes on injustice affecting marginalised communities. Suriya plays Saravanan — one avatar dressed in white, another dressed in black carrying an aruval (machete) — and the duality alone has fans talking.

At the audio launch held in Madurai, Balaji made no attempt to undersell it. "Every 10 minutes, there will be a high point in the film," he declared, adding that the narrative is crafted to offer consistent highs throughout its runtime — with the first half building emotional depth and the second half delivering crowd-pleasing moments. Thirty-two months in the making, Karuppu releases on May 14.

Then comes Vishwanath and Sons, directed by Venky Atluri, and the tone shifts completely. The film introduces Sanjay Vishwanath — an international pistol shooter still chasing his passion in his 40s, with Suriya commanding the screen with style and maturity in a character filled with layers and emotional intensity. Mamitha Baiju, whose character in her 20s falls in love with Suriya's Sanjay, forms a major part of the story, with Radikaa Sarathkumar and Raveena Tandon rounding out the cast.

GV Prakash Kumar composes the music. The makers have positioned it as the return of "vintage" Suriya, and the official announcement said it all — "Love with a difference, family with a purpose." The film heads to theatres in July 2026.

And then there is Suriya 47 with Jithu Madhavan — the man who gave us Aavesham and redefined what a mass entertainer could look and feel like. In the yet-untitled film, a serious crime takes place and an unserious police team is on the case. That one line tells you everything about the tone Madhavan is going for.

At the film's launch ceremony, he set expectations with characteristic simplicity. "New industry, new beginning. Working with a star like Suriya adds more excitement. We're trying something fresh, and I hope the audience embraces it," he said. When asked if the film would carry a Malayalam sensibility, he kept it brief: "It will be a proper Tamil film." Nazriya Nazim plays the female lead, with Naslen in a key role.

Three films. Three directors with wildly different sensibilities. Three genres that demand three completely different versions of the same actor. Whether all three land the way they are meant to is a question only time will answer. But the intent is clear — Suriya is not here to coast. The experimentation is real. Now all that's left is for the numbers to follow.

- Ends