HAPPY PRIDE!!! i was thinking of doing a set for suriya's more queer coded chars, and it's def these 4; chandru, friends (2001) // gautham, mounam pesiyadhe (2002) // raju, anjaan (2014) // athreya, 24 (2016)
i don't base these off nothing, obviously, all these come about from a lot of the subtext in the writing and fun discussions with fellow-minded queer suriya fans who like prodding into his filmography. chandru in friends is possibly one of the messiest, jealous bi polycule reads on film, he was totally insane in that with how irritated he got whenever aravind flirts with anyone. gautham from mp reads super ace and gay with the constant exposition from text itself saying he's just not interested in women, and it's almost a film about gaslighting yourself into settling for a heteronormative life just cos you think someone else is in love with you. raju in anjaan, another fun bi polycule that is also supported from the text itself during that eyebrow-raising roadside scene where the 3 of them sit down, and samantha's char openly tells them to get a room with a gay joke, which they don't deny or brush off at all. and finally, of course, athreya and mithran in 24 are clearly nuts since his ''henchman'' has no reason to be doing all that for years staying by his side through a decades-long coma, with even suriya himself in interviews pre-release saying they were like a married couple and were soulmates (literal: he said this), so i think that he definitely played into an almost romantic angle with them
and this is not including some others i've seen talked about, such as sakthi in pithamagan (he tattoos chittan's name over his heart!!), or another i feel has queer undertones, too, in rakta charitra 2, where the dude opposite him falls for suriya's char way too fast even though he has no other motive on his part, and is ready to give up his life for him.
i wish at some point, we can see suriya play an actual explicit queer char, it's been something we've been yearning for so long and realising more and more how behind the tamil industry is behind our neighbours such as malayalam, where they've not just had multiple queer films, but prominent actors playing those roles (mammoothy, prithvi, nivin...). this is one aspect we are still so regressive in, no matter how much we boast about progressiveness in caste, religion, or the feminist lens. queer people still remain invisible, with no outlet in kollywood, not even in bad films. i still believe suriya is a man who would be capable of bringing something to life, and is someone who would be open to it if the right script comes by. it would mean a lot to see my favourite actor do a queer film i can cherish for the rest of my life. it doesn't necessarily have to be happy or preachy, but just anything at this point, i would love to see him in
also, bonus something from a little character named rolex....
...just cos i've seen this character spawn multiple fanfics and imaginations from this scene alone! a lot of people did think this was very sexually charged lol. his impact >>>
