upon release with a critic from Rediff.com claiming that "Suriya as Anbu Selvan fits the role and this film is certainly a career high for him". The film emerged as Suriya's first major blockbuster at the box office and earned him his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. His portrayal of a happy-go-lucky village crook with a comic touch in Bala's Pithamagan, co-starring Vikram, won him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil. In 2004, he played dual roles in Perazhagan, as an aggressive boxer and a handicapped phone booth keeper. Suriya's performance received highly positive reviews from critics with a reviewer describing it as "Suriya deserves appreciation for his astounding performance. He is at his best be it humor or action. The actor has scored a hat trick". The film emerged as a commercial success at the box office, and Suriya won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance. The same year, he portrayed the role of a student leader in Mani Ratnam's political drama Aayutha Ezhuthu along with Madhavan and Siddarth. The film received high critical acclaim and was also commercially successful. Suriya signed on to feature in the psychological thriller, Ghajini directed by A. R. Murugadoss in November 2004. He played the role of a businessman suffering from anterograde amnesia. Ghajini emerged as a blockbuster at the box office and was the third highest-grossing Tamil film of the year. Suriya's performance was unanimously praised, with a reviewer from Sify citing that "the film is driven by Suriya's riveting performance". The film was dubbed in Telugu under the same name and was again a box office success, earning him fame in Andhra Pradesh. Suriya received his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil for his performance in the film. Later that year, he worked in Hari's action film Aaru, which was moderately successful at the box office. His performance received positive reviews with a reviewer citing that "Suriya keeps you riveted to the seats with another wholesome effort". In 2006, appeared in a cameo role in Jyothika starrer June R. In the same year he starred with Jyothika and Bhumika Chawla in N. Krishna's film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. The film took a strong opening. It had an average response from critics, but his performance was praised, with a reviewer from Sify citing