Suniel Shetty on completing 29 years in Bollywood; "Being labelled as wooden to delivering iconic films"

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty opens up about his 29-year career in Bollywood and how he went from being labeled as wooden to delivering iconic films. Suniel Shetty’s career had had quite an oscillating graph, from being labeled as rigid and muscled to a point in his career when he went off the radar.

But he was always able to bounce back, and he was very good at it.

Now, as he approaches the 30-year mark in the industry, he admits he’s getting roles that reflect his age and talent.

In these 29 years, I’ve seen success as well as failure. And then, from 2015 onwards, I disappeared completely for some years. And despite that also, when you see the love (from fans), you realize there must be something right that you’d have done,

- Suniel Shetty

 says Shetty, who made his acting debut with Balwaan (1992).

Since his debut in Bollywood, he has played a variety of characters, ranging from a braveheart in Border (1997) to a vengeful lover in Dhadkan (2000) to a terrorist in Main Hoon Na (2004).

People, including the media, kept me alive, and suddenly you feel you have a new lease of life. But through my ups and downs, I didn’t let go of anything. I kept myself fit, relevant, active, and continued to do the kind of work I was doing

- Suniel Shetty

he says, describing his journey as a “beautiful journey” so far.

From someone who was called wooden to having delivered iconic films like Border, Hera Pheri, Hu Tu Tu or Mohra, people still talk about these films... so many memes are still

- Suniel Shetty

, Shetty recalls.

The father of two children, Athiya and Ahaan Shetty credits others with keeping his career alive during a difficult period, and he considers himself fortunate.

Everybody says, ‘I think you suck up to the media.’ That’s not true at all. They’ve kept me alive. And if I don’t appreciate that, then why am I doing whatever I’m doing?

- Suniel Shetty

 He muses.

He goes on to say, 

They aren’t just brilliant characters, but something that drives the whole story. I always think, yes I’m enjoying this, but is there any takeaway. I’m doing work on the web and in films that show me as a 60-year-old and doing justice to my personality.

- Suniel Shetty

According to the actor, new scripts for senior actors are being written, which is bringing new energy to the industry.

The kind of respect women get in the film industry today, the senior actors, 60 plus, are also getting path-breaking roles. This kind of thing works like magic,

- Suniel Shetty

 he concludes.