Actor Suriya, who is now 46, has never taken his fame for granted and is pretty decisive about the choices he makes for each film. If he wishes, he can continue to produce masala films like Singam while still finding an audience. Instead, he chooses to take risks with a film like NGK. He can just create a fashion trend by changing his hairstyle and beard like he did in Anjaan. And yet, he chooses to radically change his appearance for each film. For example, he lost a tremendous amount of weight to portray the younger version of his characters in films like Vaaranam Aayiram and Soorarai Pottru. He experiments with his characters because he doesn’t like to repeat himself. His bet doesn’t always pay off, but that doesn’t stop him from trying new things.

Here are five times Suriya set the fitness and fashion trend with her movies.

Vaaranam Aayiram

Suriya to Vaaranam Aayiram.

He was a pioneer in many ways. Director Gautham Menon’s film showed Suriya at different stages of her life – from a teenager to an old man with cancer. To adapt to the role of a teenager, Suriya lost weight massively. To play an army officer, he regained all his muscle weight to look like the role. Suriya’s washboard abs in the 2008 film inspired many young people to take their fitness seriously.

7aum Arivu

A photo by 7aum Arivu.

Director AR Murugadoss’ sci-fi drama once again allowed Suriya to experiment with her appearance. He played the role of a 6th century Tamil Bodhidharma monk, which is touted as the main reason for the establishment of the Shaolin temple in China. To succeed in this role, he had to look ultra-fit, what he did and how.

Ayan

A still, Ayan.

Director KV Anand’s playful film about a smart and handsome young smuggler remains one of Suriya’s greatest career successes. The actor looked super cool as a globetrotter, who brought things to India across the world, just for the thrill.

Singam

Suriya like Singam

The 2010 crime film, written and directed by Hari, showed Suriya as a dynamic and brash officer. After the film’s release, the popularity of the handlebar mustache kind of skyrocketed, thanks to the actor. The success of the film was such that any policeman with the handlebars and fascination with Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses was nicknamed “Singam”.

Soorarai Pottru

Suriya in Soorarai Pottru.

Directed by Sudha Kongara, the film was loosely based on the struggles of Air Deccan founder GR Gopinath. Suriya tried out the role of an idealistic man, who aspires to make air travel affordable for everyone. Once again, he had lost weight only to briefly appear as a rebellious recruit to the army. His basic plain shirts and cargo pants paired with dark sunglasses have shown us that it doesn’t take a lot of effort to get working-class men into fashion.