'When I was called 'wooden', I took it as a strong message': Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty on the judgements he faced

Actor Suniel Shetty looks back at his journey through films and his newfound success on OTT

By Yasser Usman

Published: Wed 14 Jun 2023, 11:30 AM

Last updated: Wed 14 Jun 2023, 11:38 AM

Veteran actor Suniel Shetty has made an action-packed comeback on OTT with shows like Dharavi Bank and Hunter. In this exclusive chat with City Times, he talks about rejections, long break from films, how to save film business, and why he wants the youngsters to shun work-from-home and go out in the big bad world to learn and achieve success. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Balwaan came in in 1992. Thirty one years after that debut, you won hearts again on OTT with your two back-to-back action series — Dharavi Bank (2022) and Hunter (2023). You're also looking super fit these days.

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Yeah! Balwan in 1992 and here I am, 31 years later. I'd taken a break from cinema for a long time.Then got an opportunity to do Dharavi Bank and Hunter, both up my alley, action, roles that were very challenging. Fortunately, they got appreciated. Though I was out, I made sure to keep myself healthy and fit, never knowing what tomorrow has in store for me.

You began as an action hero and initially, the media of those times was not taking you seriously as an actor. What do you remember of those initial few years in the film industry?

My initial few years were about being called 'wooden' and being run down as an actor, but because of my action and daring stunts, I managed to keep myself afloat and do great cinema later. And, of course, once you grow as an actor, you get opportunities with great directors and films like Border, Dhadkan, Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri. They probably got the best out in you, but, finally, it's always a good script.

You are perhaps the only Bollywood star who is so active on LinkedIn and really shares sensible thoughts about work culture and career. In a recent post, you said working from office is better than working from home. Why do you feel that way?

I said that because that's what my belief is. Of course, there are a lot of people working from home since the pandemic and doing brilliant work. But my experience has been that you learn a lot more, and your skills develop a lot more when you work from office. If you're out there in the real world, it's a big difference, but I am not taking anything away from people who are working from home and managing to run a family and career. Hats off to them. But given a chance, I would go out to work. It charges me up.

Your kids, actors Ahan and Athiya, have worked hard for their opportunities in Bollywood. Even star kids have a different kind of pressure. What has been your advice to them when their films didn't work?

I know they are working hard and fighting it out there on their own. A star kid might get an opportunity first, but after that, everybody's struggles are the same — good films, good work, good ethics, good behaviour and you will make it. Star kids feel the pressure a lot more because a lot more people are judgemental about them. My only piece of advice has been that you have to work hard and it's your journey. Enjoy success but don't get scared of failure. Be ready to take it on and fight it and move on, prove yourself, love your work like your own child and you can't go wrong.

You've been a very successful businessman too right from the beginning of your career. Acting is a totally creative zone while business is the exact opposite. Was business something to fall back on if your acting career didn't work?

Yes, even in the initial stages when I was called 'wooden' and was asked to go back to my restaurants because I didn't belong to the industry, somewhere it must have hurt me. I took it as a strong message to be very clear about wanting to fall back on something and be someone who wasn't going to shy away from anything. There was always this feeling — what if this career doesn't work? That's why I continued doing business. Though with a successful film career, I failed in a lot of businesses I did. But I kept my investments alive and thank god, when I decided to take a break for 6-8 years, I was still alive, kicking, confident.

You have spent so many decades in the show business, how do you think the film industry has changed post-Covid, with weak theatre business, and the politicisation of society and industry, in general? Very few films are working in theatres. As a creative person as well as a businessman, what do you think is the way ahead?

Post-Covid, you have this big competition from television and the OTT world. Very few films are working in theatres because somewhere down the line, we have forgotten to make films for our audience — entertaining films for the masses. And the competition being very high, people are really judgemental about when and why they want to spend their money. If the theatre-going experience is very expensive, they rather make sure that they hear the reviews first and then take that call. So all we need to make sure is we focus on the content and the pricing is right. People need to feel and enjoy the big screen experience, not willing to take trash just because everything is available for free.

When you meet your contemporaries these days, like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. What do you talk about?

We talk about health, we talk about family, the industry, the way forward, and the old times. All of us are still very close and connected and there for each other. That was the beauty of the past. We all worked in multi-starrers, which you see very few of today. The kids are very good friends, but I don't know if they are ready to do multi-starcast films whereas I feel the need of the hour is that because you want to give audiences value for money. I think you'll have to pack your film with all the content and all the faces that you have and make it entertaining.

Your fans wish to see you in a full-blown action avatar on the big screen. When is that going to happen?

It continues to happen as we speak. There are a lot of scripts that have come to me. This is the golden period and I am making the most of it and at the same time, making sure that I do the right kind of work. Success or failure is immaterial. The character and film should be appreciated. I'll continue to try and look forward to this journey.