MUMBAI : Suniel Shetty ruled the big screens in the 90s and late 2000s. But, in the past few years, we haven’t seen him in more movies. However, the actor is now getting all the praise for his performance in Dharavi Bank which marked his OTT debut.
TellyChakkar recently interacted with Suniel Shetty and spoke to him about his break, the South vs Bollywood debate, and more…
Recently, you said that filmmakers were not coming to you with offers. Why do you think that an actor of your stature was not getting offers?
Because probably at the box office I didn’t work; I had probably done bad content. Finally, it’s math for a producer to come to you or believe that the magic is still there in you, and that’s why it happened. But, no regrets; of course, you feel bad initially, and you go through that stage. However, then you step back and realize that ‘okay I missed this, but I gained this’. I spent quality time with my father and family. I stepped back, analyzed, and understood what the industry is going through. I saw the highs and also saw the lows. We have forgotten how to celebrate cinema. We don’t announce cinema, we don’t announce music anymore; there are no premieres, there’s nothing. Cinema is larger than life, so you have to celebrate it. For me, cinema will always be the baap of entertainment. Father is a father and that is cinema; OTT and everything come after that. Now, the celebration is on social media.
You have worked in South Indian movies also, and today as Hindi dubbed versions of South films are doing well, there’s a South vs Bollywood debate going on. What do you have to say about it?
I think the content will take over cinema. It’s good content vs bad content. There’s nothing about South vs Bollywood; It’s about Indian cinema and about delivering great content. Kantara was a simple story, and so was Pushpa; they were stories that were presented in a larger-than-life way. They are directors who know their craft. It’s not a kid who has assisted in one film and because he is very close to the actor has ended up making a film as he has got a producer that doesn’t work.
Also, do you think that heroism is missing in Hindi films?
Absolutely! Larger than life where your audience aspires to be like you or looks forward to seeing you on screen, narrating the hero’s story at home; that excitement is important. That’s what makes or breaks content.
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