Chandra Suresh

Chandra Suresh
Portrayed by	Erick Avari, Ravi Kapoor (in 1961)
First appearance	Seven Minutes to Midnight
In-story stats
Known ability	None
Gender
Date of death	September 28, 2006
Home	New York, NY, formerly Madras, India
Residence	Chandra Suresh's apartment
Occupations	Geneticist, professor, taxi cab driver
Significant other	Mrs. Suresh
Children	Mohinder Suresh (deceased), Shanti Suresh (deceased)

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Chandra Suresh (Hindi: सुरेश चंद्र) is Mohinder's late father. He studied the phenomenon of evolved humans.

About

Chandra Suresh was the author of Activating Evolution, a book which appears to explain the reason so many people with powers are suddenly appearing. He found a means of tracking and locating potential powered people. He was also connected with Sylar, whom he referred to as "Patient Zero". On a taped telephone conversation, however, he wanted nothing more to do with Sylar and insisted the strange man stop calling him. Before his death, Suresh kept a male lizard named after his son. Eden McCain, a friend Chandra made while living in New York called him "Papa Suresh" because she had difficulty pronouncing his first name.

Character History

Season One

For an episode-by-episode summary, see Chandra Suresh: Season One History.

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The Second Coming

Mohinder tells Maya that his father toiled for years to isolate the gene that controls abilities.

Turn and Face the Strange

Mohinder pushes in the lock to Chandra's old apartment only to find that Danko's men have emptied the apartment of its contents, including Chandra's research. The landlord informs Mohinder that Chandra did leave some things in storage elsewhere in the building.

Amongst Chandra's items is a file on Coyote Sands. In the file, there is a copy of Chandra's identification from the center dated February 13, 1961.

1961

In 1961, Chandra Suresh works at Coyote Sands as a doctor. He greets young Angela Shaw and her family as they step off a bus. He gives them a tour of the camps and introduces them to Dr. Zimmerman. Angela trusts Chandra, but Alice Shaw and Charles Deveaux do not. Chandra tests and films people to see their abilities. He tests Angela and she tells him that she dreamed that he was going to kill every one here. When Chandra goes to test Alice, she refuses and her dad helps her get free from his grasp. Alice then starts a huge storm and the armed guards start shooting. The camps are ruined and most of the people there, are dead.

Strange Attractors

Sylar comments that Mohinder did not answer Matt's phone call because he is probably still continuing Chandra's research.

Brother's Keeper

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Thanksgiving

Samuel watches Chandra's tape that explains how the power of certain evolved humans can increase exponentially in the presence of more evolved humans. He smiles as the baby begins to unleash waves of seismic power.

Heroes Evolutions

On March 5, 1961, Chandra recorded several films while at Coyote Sands. In the films, Chandra shares his observations on a force inherent in evolved humans which amplifies exponentially when the forces approximate. He also reports that there has been an unusual amount of seismic activity emanating from a pregnant woman, who gives birth to a baby during one of the films.

Memorable Quotes

"Why? It was always this way with my father. Every question met with another question. Never an answer. Only 'why?' Even after he's dead."

- Mohinder (to Eden) (One Giant Leap)

"Darwin said a scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, a heart of stone. That's me, Mohinder. It's not you. Go home."

- Chandra Suresh (to Mohinder) (Homecoming)

Notes

• On coming to New York City, Chandra worked as a cabbie for the Chelsea Cab Company. (Monsters)
• It is unknown whether Mohinder's grandmother is Chandra's mother or mother-in-law.
• Mohinder looks at a family photo featuring Chandra. (The Hard Part).

Trivia

• There was initially another actor cast for the role of Chandra Suresh. In a graduation photo seen in Genesis, a bearded Chandra stands next to Mohinder. In a later graduation photo seen in Homecoming, Erick Avari is standing next to Mohinder. In fact, Monsters shows a bearded Chandra rather than a likeness of Erick Avari. The actor change is also evident in the photo on the back of Activating Evolution. In all aired episodes, the jacket photo showed Erick Avari. However, the recap before Collision showed the scene with Peter giving the book to Nathan, and a different photograph of a man in a turban was used. When earlier episodes were rebroadcast, the Erick Avari cover was again used. A closer analysis indicates that it is the other photograph of the man wearing a turban that is obsolete: in the scene with Peter and Nathan, the book shows the Erick Avari photo. Then as the book is put down, the other photo appears briefly in a wide shot, and finally in the next scene it's the Erick Avari cover again. It would have been difficult to cover, alter, or refilm the wide shot, so what probably happened was that the turbaned photo was used as a stand-in until Erick Avari was cast, and then the close-ups of the cover were re-filmed before the episode was broadcast. Somehow, the original shot was inadvertently used for the recap before Collision.
• "Chandra" is a Hindu moon god. There is a picture of the moon in Chandra's apartment. The moon god is sometimes identified with Soma, the Hindu bull/bird god that evolved into a lunar deity.
• The story was originally meant to follow Chandra tracking down evolved humans, however, when Sendhil Ramamurthy was cast, the character of Mohinder was created as Chandra's son.

See Also

• For other uses of Chandra, see Chandra (disambig).

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Chandra Suresh for fan-created theories and other speculation.