Suriya has been having quite the year so far. His latest release, Scene, directed by Aavesham filmmaker Jithu Madhavan, opened in theatres on Friday to mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences. The film's release and positive feedback follow two blockbusters from Suriya from earlier this year: Karuppu with director-actor RJ Balaji and Vishwanathan and Sons with filmmaker Venky Atluri. Naturally, much of the focus has been on Suriya following the retirement of Vijay from cinema for a career in politics and the prolonged absence of Ajith Kumar for his motorsports endeavours. "The One" nickname has lately been a more prominent part of the PR around Suriya and his recent films.
At a premiere of Scene, director Jithu was asked about whether Suriya is the next big phenomenon after Vijay and Ajith Kumar. However, Jithu shrugged off the question, saying, "I do not know about that. Everyone enjoyed the film."
Jithu was also asked about Suriya's recent blockbuster run and the prospects of Scene to back it up. "I think it will come out superbly. The response to it has been like that. I would have a better picture if I catch the response in certain theatres," a candid Jithu expressed.
Scene tells the story of a former police officer (Suriya) who comes out of retirement to solve a puzzling serial killer case. The film also stars Nazriya Nazim, Naslen, Lal, Anandraj, and Raj Priyan, among others. It is full of Easter eggs, including references to Suriya's older films such as Singam and Kaakha Kaakha.
Jithu makes his debut in Tamil cinema with the film, which follows his two other successful ventures: the horror-comedy Romancham and the gangster-comedy-drama Aavesham. It remains to be seen how the film will go on to fare at the box office in the coming days.
