Now a familiar face in South Indian films, the actor talks about riding the choppy waves of public adulation
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 15, 2020)

At 58, Suniel Shetty is still built like a tank. He brushes his hands over his salt-and-pepper beard as he settles down for this interaction at his Aaram Nagar office. The actor may have slipped off the Hindi film radar, but he has been making waves down South. In recent months, he’s shared the screen with Rajinikanth (Darbar), Kichcha Sudeep (Pailwaan) and will soon be seen in Mohanlal’s epic period war film Marakkar - The Lion Of Arabian Sea. “The passion to create and love for life” is what keeps him going, he says. “There’s a generation that has forgotten me and a younger generation that respects me for my fitness, rather than for my films,” he says. “They think you’re yesteryear’s [star]… but they don’t know why you’re not working.”

Shetty shares that he was comfortable with his extended sabbatical; he never thought he’d end up working in South Indian films, despite having done cameos in the past [Kalimannu (2013) and Kakkakuyil (2001)]. “I didn’t want to do a negative role and any actor from Bollywood who goes there is offered just that. They believe that you’re a national-level hero, so if any of their heroes can beat you up, it’s the best thing ever.” His recent film choices, he says, were driven by passion and uncertainty. “When you’re back from a long sabbatical, the best work doesn’t come your way and I wasn’t even sure if I can act,” says the actor credited for 128 films.

The response that Darbar and Pailwaan received, however, encouraged him to consider more projects. In the forthcoming Mosagallu, he dons the avatar of a powerful cop, while he plays a 16th century warrior in Marakkar - The Lion Of Arabian Sea. Unsurprisingly, Shetty’s invincible action hero image from the 1990s still has traction. He credits veteran actor Danny Denzongpa for helping him carve this image in his debut Balwaan (1992). “When we were brainstorming on how to make my character seem powerful, Danny Sa’ab suggested that I carry him on my shoulders and then drop him. The last person who had lifted him up in a movie was Amitabh Bachchan in Khuda Gawah. This tip worked like a charm.”

But at 58 it’s getting tougher to keep up with that image. Of an action sequence shot for Darbar, where he was expected to “fall and throw five kicks and six punches”, he says, “I asked a 19-year-old assistant if he felt I’ll pull it off, and he said ‘Very easily, sir’. Then, I asked him how old his father is, and he said 54. I told him, ‘I am 58, so if your dad can do it, I’ll do it’.”

Shetty made several attempts to shake the image of a brooding, death-defying action star, but it was never “accepted”. “I tried comic and socially-relevant films too, but they didn’t work,” he says. “My producers would only say, ‘Do action scenes aur ek baarish mein gaana daal dena, body dikhake’.” In fact, the feedback he received from his family for his non-action films was just as telling. “I would ask my parents and kids, ‘How’s the film?’ and they’d say ‘Brilliant’ and then later, ask for a Saridon. So, you know where you stand.”

Post Hera Pheri (2000), a milestone in Shetty’s chequered career, many were convinced that he also had the chops for comedy. “And that was validation for an actor who was dismissed by critics as ‘absolutely wooden’,” he says. But there was always a back-up plan. Shetty ran a restaurant and boutique business before films and if acting didn’t work out, he would have to swallow his pride and listen to friends say, “Actor banne gaya tha, wapas aa gaya”. But since he had signed about 14 films even before his debut, there was no looking back.

Later, Shetty decided that rather than struggling to dazzle his audience with his performance, he would startle them with death-defying stunts. “I took on action stunts which were so dangerous, people would say ‘Alag hain’,” says the actor, who remembers that some of them actually lead to serious injuries. “While shooting for Mohra [the 1994 hit], when I lost a ligament, I was told to go for surgery but I couldn’t as 17 films were pending. Kitchen usi pe chal raha tha,” he says. “I would shoot for Mohra during the day and then strap my ankle and go shoot for Gopi Kishan at night. I’d only get two hours to rest — while commuting between Mukesh Mills and Filmistaan.”

Only time will tell if his son, who makes his debut this year with Milan Luthria’s remake of RX100, is cut from the same cloth. While Shetty believes Ahan will be able to handle success, he worries about how he will deal with failure. “There will always be brickbats, and nowadays, any faceless person can take pot-shots at an actor. But I’m sure Ahan will fight back,” he says.

Reflecting on his own experience, Shetty shares that when he started out, he was “barely ready to take on the world”. “We felt personality hain, we’ll wing it. But dialogue bhi bolna hain, naachna bhi hain and both haath aur pao ke saath nachna hain,” he says with a laugh. The actor got a lot of flak for his puppet-like moves and peculiar voice. “Every newbie thinks that you’re the next Bachchan. But then you watch your film and think ‘Sh*t, I really need to learn the craft’,” he says. Incidentally, this was what he told his daughter Athiya after her debut Hero opened to a lukewarm response. “Then, she really worked on her performance and the result can be seen in Motichoor Chaknachoor,” he says of her third film with Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The actor, who counts Border (1997) as his most gratifying film and credits Dhadkan (2000) for helping him sharpen his craft, learnt lessons of his own along the way, too. “Dharmesh [director Darshan] told me ‘Just really believe you’re the character’. That’s when I realised that the most important thing for an actor to do is to invest 10 per cent mind and 90 per cent heart,” says Shetty, who does not grudge his peers their succes. “I don’t want to compete with the Akshays and the Ajays because you know you don’t stand a chance,” he says. In fact, he appreciates their strengths. “Jackie Dada’s [Shroff] personality is so loving and affectionate that if you give him attitude, he’ll just ignore you; Amit ji’s [Bachchan] humility makes you feel, ‘Amitji aise hain, toh main kaun hoon’, while Salman Khan has mastered the art of commanding attention and respect without saying a word,” he says.

As told to Hiren Kotwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 11, 2019)

The first film I signed was Sajid Nadiadwala’s Waqt Hamara Hai and my first release was Balwaan. I got into films thanks to photographer J P Singhal saab. Raju Mawani, who sadly passed away in October, was making his first film as a producer with Deepak Anand as the director.

I had never thought I’d become an actor. But when I got the opportunity, I was like, “Mauka mila hai toh I’ll do my best… chauka maarne ka”. I trained with (the late acting coach) Roshan Taneja saab for a few weeks, and when it was time to shoot, I would mug up my lines. Initially, I was a little nervous. Divya Bharti was the leading lady of the film and she was already a star; very spontaneous and brilliant at everything she did. Gradually, with the prep and all, I got comfortable. Then, there was also Danny saab (Denzongpa).

By the time we began shooting, my nerves had settled. My first shot was an action scene—I had to jump off the bridge at Kemps Corner. It was action and I felt it was up my alley. It charged me up. Since it was the neighbourhood I grew up in, people I had grown up around had gathered on the first day of the shoot to root for me. At the back of my mind, I knew I had to give my best and I couldn’t disappoint them. Thankfully, the shoot went well.

Looking back, Suniel Shetty became an action hero purely because of the efforts of Danny saab. He had shot with Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan), who had lifted him for a scene in Khuda Gawah. It was he who suggested that I carry him on my shoulders/back for an action scene. His logic was that after an actor like Amit ji had done it, the audience would believe that this new actor is strong, too. So, it’s also because of Amit ji’s legendary image that I got set as an actor. (Action director) Ravi Dewan put his heart in the action. The entire team helped me settle in the film.

When you have such strong co-actors, it makes a big difference. I learnt a lot during my first film. It was Danny saab who first told me to not work on Sundays and to spend the day with family. “Do your own thing, enjoy your life. Don’t be a slave to work,” he told me.

Even though Sajid (Nadiadwala) bhai signed me first, he had no qualms about Balwaan releasing first. He’s still the same person today and takes care of his team like before. Not to forget, there were also people like Rajiv Rai and Shabbir Boxwala, among others, because of whose involvement, my career took off.

MUMBAI MIRROR (November 1, 2019)

Actor-filmmaker Raju Mavani who launched Suniel Shetty in films with Balwaan in 1992, passed away on Thursday, at around 7:30 pm. He was 62.

According to industry sources, Mavani was suffering from kidney ailments and was later diagnosed with cancer. He fought for three years before succumbing to the disease.

Apart from producing films like Imtihaan, with Sunny Deol, Saif Ali Khan and Raveena Tandon, Mavani also acted in several movies like Sarkar, Wanted, Shootout At Wadala and Policegiri to name a few.

The funeral will be at the Oshiwara crematorium at 6 pm today.

As told to Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 15, 2019)

I’m a hotel management student and my basic work ethics from the industry is to serve till the end. Even today, it is no big deal for me to open doors, serve food, clean tables and even shift furniture around as I used to do at my dad’s South Indian restaurant when I was 15. My dad started out as a cleaner in Mumbai before buying two restaurants, Broadway around Minerva Talkies and Ramanjay near Central Plaza theatre. I also had the urge to earn since I was a boy and while I was in college, I worked at the restaurant during lunch hour and in the evening. After we downed the shutters, I would go for a night show since we had theatres around. That’s how the filmi keeda got into my system.

A couple of years later, I wanted to do something different. I had this fascination of dressing up well and started a boutique, (now defunct) Mischief, with five friends. It was on Nepean Sea Road and quickly became a fashion hub with even international publications writing about my little big store in Mumbai which stocked the best of fashion. That was a big high and we started a store of formals next, More Mischief, along with Mischief Blues which was the go-to place for denims. Dabbling in the clothing business, I learnt about different types of fabrics, the thickness of denim and the T-shirt stretch and also continued with my other obsession, cricket. I played for Mumbai Under-16 and Under-19 under Ravi Shastri. It was my dream to play for Team India but there’s so much talent in our country that I couldn’t progress further.

A lot of celebrities, including movie producers, used to visit our store, that’s how I got offered a film even though I had no training in acting and no experience whatsoever. I had not even seen the inside of a studio till then. I consulted with dad who urged me to give it a shot. My first film, Arzoo, was just days away from the finish when it hit a roadblock. It was eventually shelved due to creative differences between the producer and director. I started my Bollywood journey with Balwaan but since I come from a business background, I know that life can be uncertain, so after my clothing stores shut shop, I invested in a real estate company, S2 Reality. I had also started a fine-dining restaurant in Mumbai, which is now in more able hands.

My last screen turn was in Desi Kattey in 2014. I took a break from films to spend time with my father after he suffered a paralytic attack. I had stopped enjoying the process of acting and decided to get into something more challenging. FTC started off as the sole fitness content provider to D2H platforms and now we provided ‘edutainment’ to budding actors. That includes jobs in acting, editing and direction to name a few. The idea is to turn it into the ‘Linkedin’ of entertainment industry and help organise an unorganised sector.

I’m also starting a cricket league with Zaheer Khan, FCB, for those who want to play the sport but have no place to go. I’m also back in film production and acting. I’ve just finished a Kannada film with Sudeep, Pailwaan, and now will start shooting for Marakkar - The Lion of Arabian Sea with Priyadarshan.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; August 22, 2015)

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; May 7, 2014)

Suniel Shetty, 53, may have become a star, but his heart still remains with cricket, his first love. He is emotional, blunt and hardworking, who may have the image of being good in business, but he is ruled by his heart and feels responsible towards people around him, be it his own family or his staff. His anchor remains his family and his father, his hero. Ahead of his upcoming film Koyelaanchal, he talks about the stylish Jackie Shroff, his caring wife Mana and why Balasaheb Thackeray was a great leader. Excerpts:


How did you come into the film industry?
We are from the small Bunts community, originally from Mangalore. My dad lost his father when he was nine and ran away from home to come to Mumbai to feed his mother and his three siblings. He joined one of the Udupi restaurants as a cleaner boy from where, due to his hard work, he became a manager. The owner of the restaurant had three restaurants. The owner wanted to retire and go back to Karnataka, which is when he offered my dad the option of taking over the restaurants. I was born in Mangalore, where my nani lived, but was raised throughout in Mumbai. I never thought of doing films and was always obsessed with cricket. I met Vivian Richards for the first time when I was 14. I had never seen such forearms like his. He used to hit real hard. I went upto him and asked him how he had such shoulders and he said, ‘Weight training.’ I started weight training, thinking I would hit as hard as him. I played for Mumbai under 16 under Ravi Shastri. Politics took over in the team at that time and I knew that not being a Maharashtrian, I would not make it to the Indian team. I was very disappointed, but started pursuing martial arts. I became a black belter in kickboxing and started training the Maharashtra police. I continued to run the restaurant and started my own fashion store Mischief, till I met Pahlaj Nihalani, who offered me a role in Arzoo. The film did not work out and he offered me another film, Ek Aur Faulad. In the meantime, Raju Balwani offered me Balwaan, which started and finished earlier and became my debut film at 29.


Talk about your father, Veer Shetty?
He is my hero. When my mom had three children, he gave away two restaurants to a manager and looked after only one, so that he could give us time. He was always there when we came back home for lunch. He was uneducated, but today reads every paper and is far more knowledgeable than me and my two sisters. He knew that I love cricket, so he got me whatever I wanted and always stood on the side, quietly watching me play. He always encouraged me to do whatever I wanted to. In our community, the girl child is valued and the daughter is the most important thing. In the absence of a will, everything goes to her. My dad borrowed money and made money enough only to be able to send my two sisters to study abroad. I was fine with that as I loved India and my parents the most, and I stayed back to look after the restaurant. There was a period a few years back when I lost six members of my family to cancer, including my brother-in-law and that was a very messy period. My sister now lives with us and is with me in my real estate and lifestyle business. I have always lived with my dad, but past six months he has got paralysed.


You are amongst the few stars who seem to be loyal to your wife Mana.
I met Mana when she was in college. She always thought that I was a goon, as I was this guy with long hair on a motorcycle with my gang of friends and girls always around me, and thought that I was the type of guy who would never settle down. She is extremely elegant and simple and has blind faith in whatever I do. We were seeing each other for nine years, but my parents never met her as they believed that Mana being a half-Muslim and half-Kapoor, our marriage would never work. My mom wanted me to get married but I refused, saying that if I could not marry Mana, I would stay single. I was leaving for my first outdoor shoot at Ooty and my dad came to see me off at the airport. Mana, too, wanted to come and I could not refuse either of them. She was standing at the back as she did not want to come in front of him. He saw her and said, ‘Go, say bye to her.’ After six hours, I reached Ooty via Bangalore and kept calling Mana on her landline, but was told that she had not reached home. I was really worried and then called up my own place. To my surprise, Mana picked up. My dad had taken her home from the airport. From that day, she visited them everyday post her work for the 40 days that I was shooting. As soon as I came back, my dad asked, ‘Ready for shaadi?’ She has fit in beautifully. She really cares for them and they love her more than me today. Even though my dad can communicate only through sign language now, you say, ‘Mana’ and he lights up.


Do you have friends in the industry?
Jackie Shroff, Ajay Devgn, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Sohail Khan and Abhishek Bachchan are my friends. Ajay is very correct, honest, simple and an absolute prankster, but someone you can always depend on. Salman and me go back a long way and Jackie dada, even before that. When Salman and Jackie would come to my store Mischief, I knew they would come and strip me off all that I was wearing, be it my belt or my shirt. Jackie would come and say, ‘Shirt nikaal’. Jackie dada was a star even before he came into films. We lived in the same area and grew up watching him. At 13, we would only be watching what he was wearing. Even in his normal shorts and kurta, he was no less than Clint Eastwood for us, as he was so stylish. He would walk into dandiyas and move around and if someone said, ‘Jackie aaya,’ we would just say, ‘Chal nikle,’ and would move to the next building. It was just his personality and his looks. I used to hate Anil Kapoor till the time I met him, as Jackie and Anil were pitted against each other and for us, our hero was Jackie Shroff. He was the model for Four Square and even now, I can close my eyes and imagine him. Dada would come and sit on the steps of Mischief and there would be crowds and crowds just to see him. He was a star in Mumbai even before he became an actor. He was that Four Square model whom boys gave up other brands for, to have his brand. I called him after seeing his son Tiger in the song Whistle Bajaa from Heropanti and asked him, ‘Dada, whose genes are there in Tiger?' as he was dancing so well. Dada immediately said, ‘Mine’. I said, ‘Dada aap ungli uthate the. Which dance have you done?' We could never learn to dance as we grew up seeing you close dancing as you could close dance on any song.' How much he laughed and called me a big kutta. He is a star. Salman is one of the most misunderstood people on earth. People talk about his human side now. I remember, long back, we were all in a star rally for some cause and suddenly Salman said to me, ‘I will just come back.’ I later came to know that he had gone to get his bone marrow tested, so that he could give it to a poor kid who was suffering from cancer. He and Sanju have always given to people all the time. Abhishek is a much better actor than what you have seen. His approach is far more casual, but in reality, he is a much more intense person and is very loving and affectionate, who will go out of his way to do things for you.


Are you politically aligned?
No, not at all and I would never like to come into politics. As reported, I was never a star campaigner for anybody. I have always stood by friends. If they are doing legitimate work, are genuine and content with the wealth they have, I will campaign for them. I campaigned for Paresh Rawal as I believe he will make a difference to cinema. When he did Hera Pheri with me, he had 100 offers but he chose theatre. He is one of the simplest people you can meet. Arun Jaitley is a family friend. I campaigned for Ravi Kishan for Congress. Mahesh Manjrekar is standing for MNS and wanted me to but am not able to.


With your background of martial arts, did you ever get physical?
My dad likes my honesty and has always stood by me due to that. Within me, that became my nature and I wanted to do things the right way to match up to his expectations. I would, however, get aggressive or angry if I found someone doing the wrong thing and could even get physical. We started with South Indian restaurants and then moved on to bars and restaurants, which were in difficult areas. I still feel that those days were better than today. When Balasaheb Thackeray was alive, the shakas were prominent and while they came to you asking for money during Ganpati and other times, they were also the eyes that protected the streets and the girls. With the death of Balasaheb and the breakup of Uddhav and Raj, the fear went away. Otherwise, they ruled. Balasaheb was a leader who had a tremendous sense of humour and was extremely simple and a great artist. My father always believed in me. Once, this police guy came to our restaurant and beat up my manager for the wrong reasons, as he had refused to pay bribe to him, and so, the police guy slapped him along with two hookers from the area. I went to the police station, I still remember he was buttoning himself and I whacked him. I had hit a cop at the police station and there was a case. I used to train cops and so every cop stood by me and the guy was suspended for a year. The cop went to my father to complain about me. My father said, ‘Oh, you are Mr Das.’ He took out his slipper and hit him and said, ‘My son will not do anything wrong and if he has done something wrong, he will come and tell me. I came to Mumbai without anything. I have three restaurants. I will lose everything but will fight as I know my son is right.’ I was a very good son and never crossed the line on anything. I didn’t smoke or drink. Even in the industry, we are always surrounded by beautiful girls. But I never crossed my line. The choice is between gaining momentarily and losing a hell of a lot. It was a conscious effort. My friends make fun of me, but it doesn’t matter. Ajay says, Mumbai mein sirf do log subah uthte hain — doodhwala aur doosra Suniel Shetty. Even when a tree stops bearing fruits, its shade protects you. My father’s health really worries me and I don’t like the feeling of being the head of the family.