Surya's Rising Star in Kollywood Film Industry

In 2003 he did Kaaka Kaaka; a movie about the life of a police officer, it grossed almost Rs. 150 million at the box office. It was Surya's biggest hit at that time and made him a successful solo actor. This movie also stirred some gossip about Surya and Jyothika Saravanan's love affair. Then he did Pithamagan by Bala along with Vikram. In this movie Surya played a happy-go-lucky village crook with a comic touch, for which he received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. In 2004 he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for playing two roles in Perazhagan; one was as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but confident phone booth keeper. He then did Aayutha Ezhuthu which was based on George Reddy, a student leader in Hyderabad during the 80's. This film was directed by Mani Ratnam.

In 2005, he appeared in Aaru and then in Memento-inspired Ghajini. In this movie he played a patient suffering from short term memory loss. This movie was a blockbuster at the box office, causing him to be compared with Thalapathy Vijay and Ajith Kumar. He then set up a production company called Studio Green which distributed the movie in the Chennai district. Surya's 2006 release was N. Krishna's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his wife Jyothika Saravanan in the film. This movie did not do well at the box office. In 2007, Surya's solitary release was Vel and it became a super hit at the box office.