Director Surya Kiran of Satyam and Bigg Boss Telugu fame dies in Chennai

FILMMAKER Surya Kiran died in Chennai on Monday due to jaundice. He was 51. He was known for helming films like Satyam and Raju Bhai apart from taking part in Bigg Boss Telugu.

His spokespersons took to X to confirm the news.

PRO Suresh took to X on Monday to share that the director had died, writing, “Director Surya Kiran has passed away due to jaundice. He directed Telugu films, Satyam, Raju Bhai and a few others. He was also a former contestant on Bigg Boss Telugu. Om Shanti.”

PRO Suresh Kondeti also wrote in Telugu on X, “Director Surya Kiran passed away at a hospital in Chennai due to an illness. I pray that his soul rests in peace.”

Surya and his family hail from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, but he was born in Chennai. He began his career as a child actor, featuring in numerous Telugu and Tamil films, where he was credited as ‘Master’ Suresh. Some of the films he acted in are the 1981 film Kadal Meengal, 1985 film Mangamma Sabadham, Manithan in 1987, Swayam Krushi in 1987 and Khaidi No 786 in 1987.

His debut film Satyam released in 2003 and is a romantic comedy with Sumanth and Genelia Deshmukh in the lead roles. The film was a massive success and ran in theatres for more than 150 days. He helmed other films like Brahmastram in 2006, Raju Bhai in 2007 and Chapter 6 in 2020. He stopped acting and direction, only to reappear on season 4 of Bigg Boss Telugu in 2020. But he revealed that he planned to make a comeback in 2017, only for the film to be stuck in development.

The director was briefly married to actor Kalyani from Kerala, known for her role in Avunu Valliddharu Ishtapaddaru, before the couple parted ways. His sister, Sujitha Dhanush, is a television actor.