In a recent interview, Suriya's dad, Sivakumar, revealed that he was against his relationship with Jyotika. Here's what he said.
Suriya and Jyotika are the power couple of the Tollywood industry. The duo first met in 1999 on the sets of the film, Poovellam Kettupar. The couple has been married for nearly twenty years. They share two children: a daughter, Diya, and a son, Dev. Even after so many years of their marriage, the couple is head over heels in love with each other. In a recent interview, Suriya’s dad, Sivakumar, shared a rare glimpse of the couple’s love story.
In a recent interview with Galatta, Suriya’s dad, Sivakumar, shared a rare glimpse of his and Jyotika’s love story. Sivakumar revealed that initially, he didn’t accept their love. However, it was Suriya who was very adamant and said he would remain single for life if he did not get Jyotika in his life. He added that later he agreed to their relationship. He was quoted as saying:
"Initially, I didn’t accept his love. However, he was very adamant and said that he would only live with her; otherwise, he would remain single for life. Then I thought about how, over the course of my career, I acted in around 150 films, and most of them had the concept of love marriages. So I finally agreed."
In a 2024 interview with The Mashable, Suriya recalled his working experience with Jyotika. He lauded the actress for her work ethic. He shared that although he was the son of an actor, he fumbled, forgot his lines and didn’t know how to act. He was quoted as saying:
"Jyotika worked with me in her first Tamil film, after Doli Sajaa Ke Rakhna in Hindi. Her second film was with me. After that, we were good friends, and there was mutual respect. I knew Tamil, I was supposed to be an actor's son, but I was fumbling, forgetting my lines, and I didn't know how to act. It was my third or fourth film. I had a lot of respect for her work ethic, she would know the lines better than me. She would learn them by heart and was quite sincere."
Jyotika and Suriya were both struggling and trying their best to establish their foothold in the industry when they met for the first time. However, after tying the knot with Suriya on September 11, 2006, Jyotika left acting. While many believed that Suriya and his family didn’t allow Jyotika to appear in films, the latter herself set the record straight in an old interview with JFW. She shared that it was completely her decision to step away from films after her marriage. For the unversed, Jyotika left acting at the age of 28. Later, she made a comeback after a long hiatus. In a 2025 interview with Screen, Jyotika shared that she did her best roles in South films and couldn't have done something better in other language films. She mentioned that at the age of 35, she got back into films.
During these years, Jyotika dedicated her life to her children and took care of her household. In the same interview, she shared that even though they carry super stardom for the outer world, when it’s time to enter the home, everything needs to be left behind. She mentioned how she managed her children while it’s time for them to go to school. She was quoted as saying:
"I guess we leave the superstardom outside the door when we enter home. There, we are just parents of our kids. And yeah, the dabbas… definitely the prominence is given to our children. It’s more about what’s going on in their school dabbas (tiffin boxes) in the morning. One dabba leaves early morning at 6 o’clock with him to school, while the younger one’s food goes at lunchtime at 12."
What are your thoughts on Sivakumar's revelation? Let us know.
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