Actor Suniel Shetty is returning to the screen in a full-fledged role in an upcoming OTT series Dharavi Bank, which will also mark his web debut. However, the question that arises is, why has his work in Hindi films been far and few in the last five to six years?

Turns out, the actor was on sabbatical since 2017, after the death of his father, Veerapa Shetty. He tells us, “I didn’t work for three to four years. I had taken a long sabbatical, and after that came the pandemic. I did try my hand at films down South, that was me testing the waters. I was nervous, whether I had forgotten acting. It felt like going to school again.”

He describes that phase of his life as “tough times”. “Because of the kind of work I had done before, something was not appreciated... I didn’t know where I stood, as far as the audience goes. But now, I’ve realised that it’s about what our last outing was. If you deliver good content, they love you. If you do not, they forget you easily,” he says.

Shetty, 61, has been in the industry for several years now, during which he has seen his share of highs and lows. Isn’t he already used to the unpredictability? “Kind of,” he says, adding, “But, I can’t say I know all about it or I have mastered it. You see the uncertainty even now. We all believe we are doing great work, but what eventually comes on celluloid is what it is.”

Shetty admits that he had made some wrong choices, which led to his decision of taking a break. “I chose wrong films, took up bad roles... You blank out at that stage. But, after my father died and the pandemic [happened], it dawned on me that I know my job, I just made wrong choices,” he says, adding that even when it came to choosing his web project, he put a lot of thought into it:

“I was sent the synopsis. The first thing I said was, I will not play a cop. They said, ‘No, we want you to play another role’. [Only] then I agreed.”