Being Suresh Gopi: Actor, Politician, Maverick And Non-Conformist (Photo on Facebook Suresh Gopi)

Suresh Gopi, a name that started hitting national headlines when the actor-turned-politician opened BJP’s first account in Kerala during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ahead of the election, Prime Minister Modi himself visited his daughter’s marriage function held at Guruvayur temple, a sign of personal connection the Thrissur MP enjoys with the Prime Minister. Unsuccessfully contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Thrissur, Gopi won the seat with a margin of over 70,000 votes this time, and then became a Union Minister in Modi government.

Often seen as a maverick, keeping a distance from the party’s organisational affairs in the state, Suresh Gopi, since the day he won the election, appeared at odds with Kerala’s BJP bigwigs. Soon after emerging victorious, Gopi attributed his victory to people’s apolitical stance due to the failure of both LDF and UDF governments in the state. Irking the state leadership, the actor-politician’s independent stance without giving credit to the party’s leadership or owning its ideology, raised eyebrows.

Read Also: Suresh Gopi: From ‘Commissioner’ Of Dialogues To Union Minister

Growing up as an SFI member, the student wing of the CPI(M), Gopi later inclined towards the Indian National Congress and became an admirer of Indira Gandhi. During his active film stint, he had campaigned for both Congress and CPI(M) candidates. Notably, since 2014, after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country, the actor appeared leaned to the BJP, impressed by the Prime Minister and his policies. Without mentioning the state unit, the Thrissur MP declared his primary allegiance to Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The recent remark by the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Naturals asserting that acting is his true passion and that he would not survive if he stopped making films had led the media to question his commitment to the constituency he won from. He had said that he would consider himself saved if removed as minister for his projects in the movie. “If I can’t act in films, I will die. I’ve sought permission to act in the movie Ottakkomban. I haven’t received permission yet, but I’ll start filming Ottakkomban on September 6,” the actor-politician said at an event at the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce in Thiruvananthapuram.

Notably, according to a report by the news agency ANI, the ministers cannot engage in businesses, especially in acting. Working in film industry reportedly violates the ministerial code of conducts, the media house reported citing law experts.

Read Also: Minister Suresh Gopi Calls Indira Gandhi ‘Mother Of India’, Hails Congress Leader K Karunakaran

Thrissur MP’s remark on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi calling her the “architect of post-independent India” and the “mother of the country” and his visits to the LDF stalwarts’ memorials bears testimony to his non-conformist ‘being Suresh Gopi’ attitude.

The film star’s latest stance defending actor Mukesh amid allegations of sexual abuse on the heels of the Hema Committee report release was dismissed by BJP state president K Surendran. Hours after Suresh Gopi responded to media questions about the sexual assault allegations against his industry colleague and Kollam CPM MLA, in which he asked the media not to brand him as the culprit saying that the court will decide on the matter, the state BJP unit distanced itself from the actor-politician’s stance. “Are you the judiciary?” the angry Suresh Gopi asked the media persons, reflecting the way he is alleged to have been dealing with the fourth pillar of democracy.

Read Also: BJP Disowns Suresh Gopi, Says Party’s View Is Different

The Union Minister’s clash with the media continues, with Gopi recently filing a police complaint, blasting the journalists for blocking his way, asking questions. His latest remark to the media that “when I come from the office, you should ask about office affairs, when from home, about home affairs, when from film set, about film affairs” has become a subject of trolling.

The Union Minister, who gave goosebumps with his dialogue delivery in his movies, has been, many times, criticised for his uncustomary interaction with the media. Some of the media persons had described him as characters in his movies, highlighting that he has not come out of these roles in the films. The action hero superstar in “Commissioner,” “Lelam,” “Mafia,” “Pathram,” “Thenkasipattanam,” and “Bharathchandran I.P.S.” was major hits, stabilising himself with evergreen mass dialogues.

The actor also holds personal connection with Malayalam super stars including Mammootty, Mohanlal and other noted film personalities, in addition to having been an executive member of the now-disbanded Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the release of the Hema Committee report.

Read Also: What Union Minister Suresh Gopi Said On Petrol Deregulation, GST Inclusion

Earlier this year, the actor faced controversy when he allegedly misbehaved with a female reporter by touching her, leading to the journalist filing a complaint against the BJP leader.

However, with all the ideological flips, the personal commitments, and maverick nature, being Suresh Gopi would probably be an eccentric journey. The actor married Radhika Nair, the granddaughter of actress Aranmula Ponnamma, in 1990 and has five children—Lakshmi Suresh, Gokul Suresh, Bhagya Suresh, Bhavni Suresh, and Madhav Suresh.