Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 8, 2021)

Actor Ahan Shetty recently made his acting debut with Tadap. His action hero avatar has received a thumbs up from the film fraternity. And, his father, actor Suniel Shetty, is beaming with pride: “I never realised he’s such a thinking actor. You always feel ghar ki murgi dal barabar. As a father, we always try correcting them because you feel you know more. When I saw my boy on the big screen, it hit me that [even] after doing 120 films, I haven’t been able to deliver what he has.”

Suniel marked his acting debut 29 years ago with Balwaan (1992), an actioner. “Ahan and I making our debuts with actioners is a coincidence,” he says. But the 60-year-old adds it was a call that his son had to take to start his career with a deglamorised role.

“There are a lot of negatives that he began with. He came as an angry character, with a face that is distorted and not pretty all the time. He didn’t shave, had under-eye circles, burnt lips and messed up hair. But his gamble has paid. His confidence and self-belief has worked wonders for him,” shares Suniel.

The senior actor’s Malayalam film, Marakkar: Lion Of The Arabian Sea, hit the screens a day before Tadap’s release. Talking about how a box-office clash with his son upset him, he says, “I wasn’t aware that they are releasing the film. Though I wished well for the film, I knew where my priorities were. It was my son’s debut. You see my posts on social media… they were only about Ahan. As a father, I don’t think I was wrong. My priority was father Suniel Shetty and not actor Suniel Shetty.”