Soori: From Parotta Comedian to Mandaadi Lead

Soori, the Tamil actor long known for comedy, is now a leading man with a coastal sports drama, Mandaadi. The Hollywood Reporter India says the film collected Rs 100 crore in a week, and The Times of India reported over Rs 30 crore in its first four days. Both profiles describe how he got there.

The role

Mandaadi stars Soori as Muthukali, a traditional fishing captain, in a story set among coastal fishermen and boat races. Mathimaran directs, and the cast includes Mahima Nambiar, Suhas, Mithun Jaishankar and Sathyaraj, according to The Times of India. Soori told the paper he spent more than 100 days at sea and called it the riskiest film he has done.

He appeared with a thick beard and long hair, and said he focuses on the director's vision. He also said the praise for his dancing has encouraged him to do more of it.

The long road

The Hollywood Reporter India traces his path from working the portable fans on the sets of Rajinikanth's Padayappa in 1999 to leading films. His early credits were bit parts. He was first noticed in Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu in 2009, where a scene of his character eating 50 parottas gave him the name Parotta Soori.

The magazine says he has led six films, of which Viduthalai Part 1 (2023), Garudan (2024) and Maaman (2025) became superhits. It says Kottukkaali (2024) was critically acclaimed but missed that streak. It describes him as 49 and possibly one of the oldest actors to reach this level of star status in Tamil cinema. That claim is the magazine's own.

Soori credits director Vetri Maaran. He told The Times of India that Maaran told him he was the protagonist of Viduthalai, and that the film brought out a different kind of acting from him. Producer Elred Kumar told the magazine that no one would have imagined the old physical comedian moving with a hero's body language.

What he said

"My first salary from a movie set was just Rs 50," Soori told The Hollywood Reporter India. He said that where you begin does not decide how far you can go. He told The Times of India that he wants to be careful with his next projects and not rush.

The Hindu's review of Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai, a separate film, calls him a former comedy actor who has turned serious and says he gives his all alongside Nivin Pauly.

Why it matters

The magazine says Mandaadi did especially well in smaller towns and villages, which the trade calls C centres, and quotes distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam on an organic rise. Producer Elred Kumar told it he is producing another film with Soori at a bigger budget.

What we could not confirm

The two collection figures come from different dates and the sources do not say whether they are net or gross, so they should not be added or compared. We have not seen the film. Praise for Soori in these profiles comes from people who worked with him.

Sources

*Cover photo: *[*https://silverscreen.in*](https://silverscreen.in)*, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soori_at_Marudhu_Press_Meet.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soori_at_Marudhu_Press_Meet.jpg)* (CC BY-SA 3.0).*