'Man who acts only in front of camera, one who helps needy'; Suresh Gopi to get Union Minister post as birthday gift

THRISSUR: This Union Minister post is a birthday gift for Suresh Gopi, who will turn 66 on June 26th. Suresh will be returning to the state as a Union Minister in front of all those who mocked him after the results of the previous Lok Sabha elections.

Although BJP leaders from Kerala have served as ministers in the Union Cabinet before, Suresh will have the historic achievement of being the first BJP leader from Kerala to become a Union Minister on the strength of his victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

The assessment that Suresh Gopi won the election only because of his stardom is not correct as Malayalees see worship on screen and voting on the ballot paper as two entirely different things. Even before he got into politics, Suresh had the heart to help the poor. He did not celebrate it through social media. People came to know about it only through those who received help from the actor. Suresh Gopi helped people irrespective of their caste, religion or politics. That is why he got votes from all sections of people. That is also the reason behind Suresh's statement that he will carry on acting even after becoming an MP. He intends to donate 10% of his film earnings to charitable causes.

Just like in politics, Suresh Gopi is not an actor who became a superstar all of a sudden. At one point, he was struggling so badly that it appeared that he would soon vanish from Malayalam cinema. From there, he made a strong comeback and went on to rock the theatres as an 'angry young man'. Suresh Gopi, the son of film distributor Gopinatha Pillai, first acted in Sathyan's 'Odayil Ninnu' when he was just seven years old.

Suresh Gopi garnered the attention of the audience through films such as 'Rajavinte Makan', 'New Delhi' and 'Irupatham Nootandu'. After that, he played hero, supporting actor and villain in several films. His popularity increased as his police roles received applause from the audience. He gained superstar status through Shaji Kailas's superhit film 'Ekalavyan'. He then went on to do a series of action films, including 'Commissioner'. Suresh Gopi's father wanted to see him become an IPS officer. However, Suresh went on to shine in movies as an IPS officer.

During his illustrious film career, Suresh Gopi often attempted to break out of his action-hero image. His performance in films such as 'Innale', 'Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha' and 'Kaliyattam' received praise from the audience as well as film critics. He won the National Award for Best Actor for his performance as Kannan Perumalayan in Jayaraj's 'Kaliyattam'.

When he became a member of the Rajya Sabha, he balanced his public work and artistic work.

Even after joining the BJP, he spoke about communism at various venues. He was an SFI activist while studying in college. He campaigned for VS Achuthanandan in the 2006 assembly elections in Malampuzha. He once said that VS is his hero in politics. He was also close to leader K. Karunakaran.

Suresh Gopi acts only in front of the camera. He gets angry very quickly and gets emotional on hearing the plight of others. The accidental death of his daughter Lakshmi had left him very depressed. His wife Radhika is also a singer.