Union Minister Suresh Gopi has expressed his desire to return to acting, citing a significant drop in income since assuming his ministerial duties.
Speaking at an event in Kannur, the Thrissur MP and veteran actor-turned-politician said, “I really want to continue acting. I need to earn more; my income has now stopped completely.”
Gopi, who is currently the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism, suggested that Rajya Sabha MP C Sadanandan Master could replace him in the cabinet.
He recalled his initial reluctance to join the ministry: “I never prayed to become a minister. A day before the elections, I told reporters that I do not want to become a minister; I want to continue with my cinema career.”
The actor-turned-politician joined the BJP in 2016 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha the same year for his contributions to the arts. Despite unsuccessful attempts in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections in Kerala, he won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, securing the Thrissur seat with a margin of over 74,000 votes against CPI’s V.S. Sunil Kumar.
Suresh Gopi is notable as the BJP’s first-ever Lok Sabha MP from Kerala and a celebrated figure in the Malayalam film industry.
