There was a time, long before the “pan-India” trend took over, when actors could collaborate effortlessly. It wasn’t seen as a big deal, nor was it made into one. These collaborations would happen naturally, without any conscious attempt to blow them out of proportion. The same was true in the Tamil film industry. In fact, in his debut film, Suriya wasn’t the solo hero; Vijay, who had already made a name for himself and was rapidly rising to stardom, also played a central role. In other words, director Vasanth’s Nerrukku Ner (1997) featured both Suriya and Vijay in lead roles, with Simran and Kausalya playing their respective love interests. The film was a commercial success and helped establish Suriya almost instantly as a promising actor.
It didn’t take long for the two stars to join forces again. They reunited in Siddique’s Friends (2001), a remake of his own 1999 Malayalam film of the same name. In it, Suriya and Vijay played best friends alongside Ramesh Khanna. The film became a blockbuster and marked a turning point in both actors’ careers. Though they haven’t shared screen space in a feature film since, their mutual respect and affection have remained strong, rooted in a bond that predates their stardom as both hail from prominent film families and knew each other well even before entering the industry.
But did you know that Suriya and Vijay collaborated once more after Friends, and that too in a short film? Yep, you read that right. Along with them, the short docudrama “Herova? Zerova?” also featured Suriya’s wife Jyotika and R Madhavan, all playing themselves. Produced and released by Suriya’s Agaram Foundation to emphasise the need for education, the short film was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Tamil Nadu. It was directed by Priya V and featured a stellar team comprising KV Anand (cinematography), Harris Jayaraj (music), Sreekar Prasad (editing) and Na Muthukumar (lyrics), making it a dream collaboration.
The short film opens in a classroom where a teacher is taking attendance. While many students are present, a few are absent. Each time a name is called and the student is missing, the scene cuts to reveal where they actually are. While one is shown working in a stone quarry, another — a little girl — is running her household while carrying a baby in one hand. As the film progresses, more kids are shown in child labour, their right to education denied.
Watch Suriya and Vijay’s short film here:
Soon, Suriya, Vijay, Jyotika and Madhavan appear on screen, rescuing these children from labour and teaching them about the value of schooling, emphasising that education determines whether one becomes a “hero or zero”. The short ends on a hopeful note, showing that their campaign has yielded good results and that the children have embraced education and are now attending school. “You will become heroes in life only if you study,” the four of them say.
Speaking about his foundation, Suriya once told Rediff, “Agaram is the first alphabet in Tamil. Agaram is the beginning of everything connected with education. That is why we decided to have the name for our foundation.” Opening up about the decision to make the short film, he noted, “This was done to make people aware of the importance of education. I am not doing this for publicity for me or my family. That is the reason why I have roped in actors like Vijay and Madhavan in the film; so that they can send the message across effectively. I will not be able to meet each and every child who doesn’t go to school and tell him the importance of education. If I can inspire anybody to sponsor a child’s education though this film, it will be great.”
He added, “It was the Tamil Nadu Education department that asked us to make a video clip urging students not to drop out of school. I thought that was not enough and why should this be restricted only to me? Why not include other like-minded actors who are my friends in the film? It is a great cause and it brought all of us — Vijay, Maddy Jo, K V Anand Sir, Priya, Harris Jayaraj, Srikar Prasad — together.”
