Surya started his film career as an actor in Vikram (1986).
He has been awarded four Nandi awards in his acting career spanning thirty-five years, two for TV performances as best villain (Preminchu, Premalo Jeevinchu) and best supporting actor (Janani Janmabhoomi) and two for film performances in films Sindhooram and Show.
Surya has acted in more than 600 films and television episodes till date.
[1] Surya's father Lieutenant Colonel R. D. Bhagawan Das and mother Prabhavathi and the family moved to Hyderabad and started a school called 'Trinity Public School'.
He joined the second batch of Students from Madhu Film Acting School (1984) after completing Bachelor of Arts in English literature and Bachelor of Education and was awarded the gold medal for most outstanding student.