4 min readNew DelhiAug 14, 2026 06:40 PM IST
Actors Jyotika and Suriya have been married for nearly 20 years, and are often regarded as one of the most loved and adored couples in the Indian film industry. The two first met on a film set, and as they grew closer and embraced their friendship, they fell in love. In 1998, Jyotika made an unsuccessful debut in Hindi movies, with Priyadarshan’s Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, but in the following year, she found her big success in Tamil films with Poovellam Kettuppar and Vaalee. Poovellam Kettuppar also starred Suriya, and this is where she was impressed by him.
Why Jyotika decided to marry Suriya
In an earlier interview with Galatta India, Jyotika had said, “The reason I decided that I wanted to marry Suriya was the respect he gave me. We first came together in the film Poovellam Kettuppar. He spoke to me very casually. That appealed to me a lot.”
The association grew further and one by one, the two had acted together in 7 films, and during this time, Jyotika was impressed by Suriya’s demeanour on set. “When a director explains a romantic scene involving the heroine, Suriya acts only to the extent the director desires. He doesn’t take undue advantage. One could say that respect attracted me,” she said.
After spending some time at work with each other, the two fell in love during the making of Kaakha Kaakha in 2003, and the subject of marriage came up.
Suriya’s father opposed their marriage
Suriya was besotted by Jyotika, and at one point, he even told his parents that if he did not marry Jyotika, then he would never marry. In an earlier interview with the aforementioned publication, Suriya’s father, Sivakumar recalled that he was initially not in favour of his son marrying Jyotika. “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 were around the idea of love marriages. So I finally agreed,” he said.
Jyotika and Suriya with their children.
Jyotika’s time away from films
The wedding happened in 2006, and by then, Jyotika had actively been working in the movies for over 8 years, and so, when she decided to get married, she chose to stop working as an actor. “I spent time from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening at shoots for about 10 years, and it had created a sort of fatigue in me. I had earned the money I needed by then. It was at this point that Surya proposed to me. Even my family agreed. Without thinking further, I got married the very next month,” she told Behindwoods in an earlier chat.
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Back in 2006, when the couple got married, Rediff reported that Suriya announced Jyotika’s retirement from films because they wanted to start a family. He also said that instead of living by themselves, they would be staying with his family, and that a new room had been constructed in their family home. At the time, Jyotika said, “I have worked hard for 10 years. Now, I want to start a family and devote more time to my personal life. I am happy I got married into a good family like Surya’s.”
Jyotika left movies for a significant amount of time and made her comeback in 2015 with 36 Vayadhinile. Since then, she has worked in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi films. Recently, Suriya and Jyotika moved from Chennai to Mumbai.
The two are parents to daughter Diya and son Dev.
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