Suniel Shetty interview: ‘My time with Rajinikanth changed me as a person’

Bollywood star Suniel Shetty, 62, shares insights on his career, family and fitness journey.

At 62, Suniel Shetty is as fit as a fiddle.

As the Bollywood star strides confidently into GM Modular’s latest showroom on Chennai’s Anna Salai, with selfie-lovers in hot pursuit, it is obvious that this fervor is nothing new to him. If he was not facing the camera, he may have gone on to become one of India’s leading sportsmen, something one can deduce by reading his social media bio that says: ‘Sportsman at heart, actor by art...”

“Well, I’m one of those million kids in India that dreamt of playing cricket for the country. I excelled in it, but maybe I wasn’t good enough. When I watch cricket on TV, I get the feeling that I’m playing there,” he says.

Interestingly, his daughter Athiya Shetty went on to marry cricketer KL Rahul, with whom Suniel shares great camaraderie. “He’s like my son,” grins Suniel.

The Chennai link

In the Nineties, even as the Khans invaded Hindi cinema, Suniel Shetty was one of the highest-paid actors and much sought after for his presence in action films. Hits and misses aside, Bollywood taught him to live in the moment.

“Thirty-five years in the film industry is a long time. To be part of the industry makes me feel blessed. Where else do you get such love and affection? Chennai, for instance, celebrates achievers in sports, movies and politics like no other place does. A young Dhoni comes in from Ranchi and becomes the ‘thala’ of Tamil Nadu... I don’t see any other State in India giving so much love and belief to an individual,” he says.