Actor-philanthropist Suresh Gopi, who was sworn in as a Minister of State in the Narendra Modi ministry, is a humanitarian par excellence, say his confidants.

He is not just an actor-politician, but also a social worker who engages in many humanitarian activities.

Gopi is loved by millions for his charitable work. From providing shelter to the homeless to sponsoring the education of the underprivileged, the list of his humanitarian works is endless. Even before entering politics, he started working for the betterment of people through his social work, and that too without publicity.

“Suresh Gopi is a genuine person who likes to help the poor and the needy. His victory is a return gift from God for this work. While I do not subscribe to his political ideology, I like him as a person,” said Salim Kumar, a national award winning Malayalam actor.

The actor’s humanitarian side was revealed in the early 2000s when he stepped out to hug two HIV-affected kids, Benson and Bensy, in Kerala’s Kottarakkara to remove the stigma associated with the disease.

In yet another such instance, when Akshara and Ananthu at Kottiyoor in the state were ostracized as parents of their classmates refused to send their wards to school due to the siblings’ HIV-status, Gopi stepped in and ensured that the two were back in the classroom. On hearing of their plight, he went to the school, hugged them and let them kiss him on his cheeks.

He then made a strong plea to the villagers, “Your children will not be infected with AIDS if these two poor children study in the same classroom or play with them. Please let them also study.”

Born in Alappuzha on June 26, 1958, Gopi began his acting career as a child artist with the 1965 film “Odayil Ninnu”. He rose to fame as an action star in the Malayalam film industry in the 1990s. In September 2023, he was appointed as the president of the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI) and the chairman of its governing council.

Known as the “angry young man” of Malayalam cinema, Gopi was initially involved in student politics through the CPI(M)’s student organization — Student Federation of India (SFI).

After a successful acting career, he ventured into politics in 2016. A close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2016.

Gopi triumphed in his third attempt, a major breakthrough for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too. His victory also assumes significance as he contested against two tall leaders — former minister V S Sunilkumar of the CPI and K Muraleedharan of the Congress.

While Gopi got 4,12,338 votes, Sunilkumar secured second place with 3,37,652 votes and Muraleedharan received 3,28,124 votes.

Earlier, the actor unsuccessfully contested from Thrissur in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and also tasted defeat in the 2021 Kerala assembly polls from Thrissur as a BJP nominee.

After his defeat in 2019, he travelled to every nook and corner of Thrissur. The constituency has several beneficiaries of the charity organisation he established in memory of his daughter Lakshmy, who died in a road accident. Recently, he led an 18-kilometre padayatra to mount public opinion against the Karuvannur cooperative bank scam allegedly orchestrated by local CPI-M leaders.

He also realized that he could not win from Thrissur without the support of Christians and began his outreach to the community. His credentials also got a boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Thrissur in the run-up to the general election. In January, Modi attended the marriage of Gopi’s daughter Bhagya Suresh, adding to the speculation that he was tipped to get a BJP ticket.

Gopi had also landed in a controversy when he was accused of sexual harassment by a female journalist during a media interaction in Kozhikode. She claimed that the actor placed his hand on her shoulder without her consent.

The actor apologized in a Facebook post, saying he had only behaved in an “affectionate manner”. As the issue went viral, several actresses came forward to support Gopi. “I will not forget it till I go to my grave,” Gopi told the media in a post-victory interaction.