2006. They have two children. Career 1997–2002: Early career Prior to his career in films, Suriya worked at a garment exports factory for eight months. To avoid nepotism, he did not reveal himself to his boss as Sivakumar's son, but his boss ultimately learnt the truth himself. He was initially offered the lead role by Vasanth in his film Aasai (1995), but he rejected the offer citing a lack of interest in an acting career. He later debuted in Vasanth's own 1997 film Nerrukku Ner, produced by Mani Ratnam when he was 22 years of age. The stage name "Suriya" was bestowed to him by Ratnam to avoid a clash of names with established actor Saravanan. The name "Suriya" was frequently used for characters in Ratnam's films. Vijay, who co-starred with him in the film, would also go on to become a leading contemporary actor in Kollywood. This was followed by a series of roles in commercially unsuccessful films in the late 1990s. In 1998, he starred in the romantic film Kaadhale Nimmadhi. In July the same year, he had another release Sandhippoma. Subsequently, he acted with Vijayakanth in the film Periyanna (1999), directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. He then appeared twice with Jyothika in Poovellam Kettuppar (1999) and Uyirile Kalanthathu (2000). In 2001, he starred in Siddique's comedy film Friends, also co-starring Vijay, which became a commercial success. Suriya confessed that he struggled due to lack of confidence, memory power, fighting or dancing skills in his early career, but it was actor Raghuvaran, one of his mentors, who advised him to create his own identity, rather than stay under his father's shadow. His major break came in the form of the action drama Nandha, which was directed by Bala. Playing the role of an ex-convict who is very attached to his mother, he received a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor, in addition to his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. His next venture was Vikraman's romantic drama Unnai Ninaithu followed by the action drama Sri and the romantic drama Mounam Pesiyadhe directed by Ameer Sultan, the lattermost of which earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. 2003–2007: Experimentation and success In 2003, he starred in Gautham Vasudev Menon's Kaakha Kaakha, a film about the life of a police officer. The film received positive reviews