Before the launch of a book on ace architect I M Kadri's legacy, daughter Mana and son-in-law Suniel Shetty talk about the overlap in their work, and their shared passions
Reema Gehi (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 3, 2016)

Thanks to his architect-father-in-law, Iftikhar M Kadri, actor Suniel Shetty reckons that he has always been inspired to look at all his film sets rather differently. "If you see all his work — and I am not just saying that because it's him — it's extraordinary," says Suniel, pointing to Kadri. "I have learnt to see everything from an architect's point of view — the thought behind the set and the light. I started getting more involved with every design of the film."

Kadri, now 86, is responsible for few of the most recognisable structures in the city (or in Suniel's words, "a gateway to South Bombay") — the Shivsagar Estate, The Happy Home and School for the Blind, Ceat House, Otters Club, Jivan and Manek as well as Grand Paradi Towers.

Referring to Kadri's self-designed sprawling apartment, on tony Napean Sea Road, where wife Mana joins him, Suniel observes, "Today, you're on the fourth floor of a building and have parked your car and walked into a house. Here, you are up in the sky, in your own individual villa, nobody can look into the house. Thirty-five years ago, if one thought like that, it's outstanding. It's truly a Swapnalok (the apartment's name) in the middle of the concrete jungle that this city has become."

Kadri turns to Suniel and Mana and explains, "You know why this building is built this way? Because this is a hill. Everybody else floored the hill, just cut it out. I used the hill."

The reputed architect's work, says Suniel, is like a blockbuster Bollywood film. "It has a great introduction. After a story opens, you reach an interval point, and then you go into climax. Without realising it, he has used the language of cinema," he elucidates.

A book, The Architecture of I M Kadri, penned by architecture theorist and editor, Kaiwan Mehta, celebrates the work of his extraordinary contribution to his oeuvre. The volume will be launched on April 7 at Worli's Nehru Centre (another landmark designed by Kadri) traces the architect's five-decade-long practice.

"His work has always fascinated me," continues the fond son-in-law. "Whenever he has worked on anything he has always kept in mind the light and ventilation and nature. Only if the exteriors work for him will he say yes to designing a building."

Suniel draws Kadri's attention to the unique structure he designed for the Oberoi Hotels in Bangalore, which was planned according to the direction of an expansive Rain tree's branches. Flipping through the pages of the hardbound volume that has the structure's original prototype, Kadri recalls, "When I visited the site for the first time in the late 1980s, it was a jungle. But there was this one beautiful tree. I thought to myself that this tree has to be preserved and it became the focal point of the project. In fact, I was very particular that nobody disturbs the tree because if it went, then my entire concept would have gone."

Kadri's passion and vision has influenced the entire family. "But Suniel the most," smiles daughter Mana. "It's uncanny how much he thinks like Dad. Now that he's working in real estate, I am experiencing the same thing with him."

The launch of Suniel's family venture dealing in luxury villas was an outcome of Kadri's impact. "Just like Dad, it is important for Suniel that the outdoor has to be indoors — green energy and landscape has to be present within a space," says Mana.

Growing up with Kadri was all about finding the beauty in art and architecture. "When we would travel, I'd be huffing and puffing, thinking about my designer boots and Dad would keep telling me to look at various structures and buildings," laughs Mana, who is a proprietor of an interior design store in Worli. "I am not educated as an interior decorator. But I feel that the sense of style is innate because I have grown up with it. It has helped me evolve as a designer."

"Like me," adds Kadri, "Mana draws very well. She has a sense of proportion." Mana turns to Dad, almost reminding him, "Well, I was a fashion designer for 25 years." She attributes her sense of style to her late mother, Vipula Kadri, founder of the NGO, Save the Children India. "Mom ran a boutique when she was pregnant with me," says Mana, "I emulated her style."

"Mom was a fabulous person," says Suniel, choking up at her memory. He was very involved in the promotion of the NGO from the outset. "I learnt so much from her."

Vipula's dream has become a common passion project that the family silently works on together. After her sudden death in 2007, Mana along with her siblings Rahul and Isha carried the baton forward, with Kadri's quiet, unwavering support, in memory of her "indomitable spirit and passion."

The family seems fluent in these languages of art, architecture, philanthropy, fashion and film, polyglots who absorb these idioms of expression through their close bonds. "It's part of our lives, be it setting up a structure, home or making a film," says Kadri. Suniel shares the sentiment. "I think waking up every morning and creating something new is exciting for us. A mundane nine to six job is not our thing," says the actor.

Daughter Athiya, who made her film debut last year with Hero and quickly earned the tag of a fashionista ("she's greatly influenced by her nani," says Mana), follows on that path. "I was fascinated to see her on the screen; I thought she would be shy and reserved. But she surprised me," says Kadri, of his granddaughter. "My grandson (Ahan), on the other hand, is ready to go any day in cinema. I can't wait for him to make a mark."

Mana and Suniel Shetty emotionally prepare for Athiya’s big screen entry
Chandrima Pal (MID-DAY; August 23, 2015)

Mana Shetty struggles to put a name to her emotions, as she watches her daughter, Athiya walk across the Balinese terrace garden at R-House in Worli. Athiya, who makes her debut with Sooraj Pancholi in Hero, has an army of young boys and girls buzzing around her, tucking away that obstinate lock, brushing up that incredible jawline, patting some delinquent creases as we speak.

In her diva curls, stilettos, flared red pants and a tie-back top, Athiya is already a star. “But I hate being called a star-mom,” says Mana, who is known in film and society circles for her poise and affable airs. “There are certain connotations to it,” says the proud mother even as she embraces her new identity “wholeheartedly.” “I was with Athiya only on the day of the mahurat. I never visited the set. I didn’t watch the rough cuts, even when I was invited to. But she knows I am always just a phone call away.”

Suniel and Mana Shetty’s children — Athiya and Ahan — are stepping into the film industry. And they can both hope to ride on the goodwill that their father has commanded over the decades. “But ours is an incredibly down-to-earth family,” says Suniel, who believes his daughter enjoys a good mix of Mana’s good looks and his personality. “She is my carbon copy,” he says as all three of them huddle for the photo shoot, talking about how both, father and daughter can swing between extremes of emotions.

The couple looks perfectly coordinated in blue and brown. They laugh about it, with Mana gently nudging her husband, when he alleges playfully that she has been copying him, down to the shoes. Jokes apart, Suniel is relatively more hands on with Athiya’s career than Mana, although he has tutored himself not to pry beyond a point. “As actor and father, I briefed Nikhil (Nikhil Advani, the director) about Athiya’s strengths. That’s about it. We knew it was best to let the professionals do their job.” He is referring to brand wiz Reshma Shetty and the film’s producer Salman Khan, besides Advani.

One of life’s biggest life lessons Suniel shared with Athiya was how to tackle the “Fear of Fridays”. “He told me that there would be a fantastic Friday followed by some really disappointing ones. You have to take it in your stride.”

Confident as he may be about his daughter’s “professional packaging” as he puts it, Suniel believes there is only so much he can do. “There is a certain kind of professionalism in the industry today, which we did not encounter. There are image managers, brand managers, bound scripts… the machinery is geared towards reducing risks in the profession.” For the mother, Athiya has been a model child. Knocking on wood, tapping her head several times during the conversation, she looks back at Athiya’s adolescence as “a surprisingly smooth phase.” The only time she got her parents in a knot was when she was 18. “She took us through the entire rigmarole of visiting American colleges that offered liberal arts courses, but did not like any of them,” Suneil says. Choosing American School’s IB programme for her was meant to lead in that direction. But Athiya’s heart clearly lay elsewhere.

It was after Mana sat her down for a heart to heart that she opened up about her wish to be an actress. In 2011, she went to New York to study acting, and it proved to be a turning point. “For the first time in my life I was living alone. I was ironing my clothes, cooking my food, doing things I have never had to do,” she says. “It changed me.” In her apartment in the heart of Union Square, Athiya learned and loved to “live with silence”. It is important to be able to do that as an actor,” she says, adding, “I learned about attachment, detachment and grew as a person.”

The Shettys say they have spared no effort in ensuring that their children stay grounded despite being to the manor born. “And that’s also because they have grown up with their grandparents,” says Suniel. “Even when I’d shoot, I would come back home and be a father, husband, son.”

This conversation couldn’t be complete without touching on the sensitive subject of Athiya’s controversial co-star, Sooraj Pancholi. Soon after their project was announced, he was drawn into a case involving former girlfriend and actress Jiah Khan’s suicide. “As a mother, I was worried,” Mana says, choosing her words carefully. “I could understand the pain that her mother was going through. I could also understand what Zarina (Sooraj’s mother) underwent. But then I met Sooraj and realised he is a completely different person from what we were being led to believe. He reminded me of my son — shy, soft- spoken and respectful towards women.” The past is evidently behind him as Sooraj gets the thumbs up from his co-star as well. “Once he starts his round of interviews and interactions with the media, people will get to know the real him,” she says.

In fact, both Mana and Suniel say that confidence is Athiya’s biggest strength. They watch her at photo shoots, media interactions and flick away a tear or two. “When I watched the first cut, I had tears in my eyes,” says Suniel. “Her other unique quality is a hunger for knowledge. She is a learner, constantly studying, watching, observing and growing.”

We leave the sprawling interior design store with its equestrian artefacts, tulip chandeliers and frangipani blooms, with the three Shettys wrapping up the remainder of the picture perfect shoot with a cheerful selfie.