Suriya’s place at the box office came under doubt. Then came 2026

Indian actor Saravanan Sivakumar, known popularly by his screen name Suriya, headed into 2026 with his hold over the box office shaken and questions being raised over his capability to draw audiences. Not anymore.

The Kaakha Kaakha, Vaaranam Aayiram and Rakta Charitra star had endured a torrid stretch at the box office, with many of his big-budget flicks and multi-starrers—NGK (2019), Kaappaan (2019) and Etharkkum Thunindavan (2023)—underperforming at the box office. The biggest blow came when Kanguvaa (2024), a period-action drama also starring Bobby Deol and Disha Patani and reportedly mounted on a budget of Rs 3-3.5 billion, bombed.

Then came 2026. So far this year, he has delivered three blockbusters: the fantasy action drama Karuppu, the romantic comedy Viswanath and Sons and the crime-comedy caper Scene, which released on November 6. While Karuppu grossed nearly Rs 3 billion (Dh117.6 million approximately) worldwide and turned out to be the biggest hit of his career, Viswanath and Sons raked in above Rs 2 billion and was declared a hit.

Scene, now running in theatres, has made gross collections of Rs 1.75 billion in its theatrical run worldwide as on November 10, according to data from the film industry tracker Sacnilk.

What led to Scene‘s success?

A combination of factors led to Scene‘s success, with the first being a set of fresh faces and technicians from Malayalam cinema—including director Jithu Madhavan, composer Sushin Shyam and actor Naslen, who plays the antagonist.

Directed by Jithu Madhavan, who had previously helmed the Malayalam films Romancham, and the Fahadh Faasil cult classic Aavesham, critics praised Scene for its offbeat humour and standout performances of lead actors Suriya, Nazriya Nazim, Naslen Ghafoor, Anandraj, Lal and the Tamil YouTuber Rajpriyan, popular for his tongue-in-cheek spoof videos on the fan craze surrounding Indian Premier League teams. Nazim returned to Tamil cinema after a 12-year gap.

The film’s soundtrack, by Sushin Shyam, too, contributed to the film’s success. The number Aeroplane…, sung by Gana Bala, has been streamed more than 3 million times on Spotify, according to the latest data available. Shyam had collaborated with Madhavan in Romancham and Aavesham before.

The surprise in the trailer

Scene‘s trailer, which dropped on October 31, further amped up curiosity. It featured Suriya as Deputy Superintendent of Police Inbaraj, who is burnt out and disinterested in doing his job—a far cry from his roles in the Singham franchise and Kaakha Kaakha. His tousled hair look and casual dressing was also the subject of online chatter in the days to come.

The biggest surprise in the film was Naslen, who had played the lover boy in Premalu and Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, donning the villain’s role. At the film’s audio launch event, Naslen described working with Suriya as a “surreal experience”.

“I got the opportunity when I was doing Lokah,” he said, adding that he had to overcome a language barrier as he wasn’t fluent in Tamil. “This was exciting, even though I was doing the (role of) villain,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

That reflected in the widespread praise to the film. Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu, who is starring in SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi alongside Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, lauded the film for its quirky premise and execution.

“The #Scene is seen and loved… Cool, smart and so much fun… @Suriya_offl is fabulous as Inbaraj 🔥🔥🔥 Nazriya and Naslen are fantastic … @jithumadavan , brilliant writing and excellent execution… Impressive In every department … A must watch,” he wrote on X.

Atlee, who had directed hits such as Jawan, Theri, Raja Rani and Bigil, described Scene as “a commercial entertainer with such a fresh and engaging narrative”.

In particular, he praised Naslen’s and Nazriya’s performances in the film. Nazriya had acted in Atlee’s first film Raja Rani.

Scene was produced by Suriya and Jyotika’s 2D Entertainment alongside Zhagaram Studios.