Suryah made his directorial debut with Vaalee in 1999 whose success catapulted him to stardom. His other notable directorials include Kushi (2000), New (2004) and Isai (2015). In recent years, Suryah has garnered significant attention and acclaim as an actor for his portrayals of quirky, unique characters, such as in Spyder (2017), Mersal (2017), Maanaadu (2021) and Don (2022), in which he played the negative role, and Jigarthanda DoubleX (2023), in which he showcased a more dramatic side in a protagonist role.