Suraj Venjaramoodu dedicates award to mimicry artistes

Suraj Venjaramoodu finds himself in exalted company with the National Award for best actor he shares with Rajkumar Rao for his performance in the unreleased Malayalam film ‘Perariyaathavar’ (Names Unknown).

The honour carries significance as it once again debunks the notion that comic actors in India can’t make the cut as top performers.

On Wednesday, Suraj — who started off as a mimicry artist — celebrated the honour with colleagues on the sets of his latest film. Speaking to reporters, the actor dedicated the award to mimicry artistes in the state.

In an acting career that spans over a decade, Suraj has done the comedian drill with considerable success. He has been the wise-cracking sidekick and the goofy bad guy by turn.

Suraj has used the dialect of Thiruvananthapuram suburbs that border Tamil Nadu, also finding him the ticket to the big league as he trained superstar Mammootty in the slang for his genre-defining blockbuster ‘Rajamanikyam’. Suraj’s repeated use of a markedly rustic version of the Thiruvananthapuram accent had led to criticism even as he tried to break the mould by picking characters that went beyond the dialect.