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Hero, Hunk

Sharmila Taliculam

Sunil Shetty. Click for bigger pic

He sat on the sand, ruler of all he surveyed -- or whatever he could survey. For, his tent was ringed, at a distance, by a host of awed watchers, a few of whom ventured forward to pay obeisance, while some went up and returned, reverently clasping a handwritten memento. Others even sought to get photographs of themselves taken with Sunil Shetty.

Others just wanted to touch him, those bulging biceps, those pulsating deltoids, those inviting quadriceps -- ooh, what a turn on! But that's where Shetty drew the line, and his man Friday saw to it his admirers didn't cross it.

Thus, sheltered from the noonday sun, did Shetty bask in all the adulation. This was what he had dreamt about -- fame, fortune, and, as a bonus, profit. Now Shetty also has a big hit in Border, in which, despite the presence of many a heavyweight star, it was he who bagged the acclaim.

With Karisma Kapoor. Click for bigger pic

Shetty feels good that his critics are wrong. And that all's right with his world. He takes you to his van, where he can talk at leisure.

A businessman to the bone, he has planned his career with the single-mindedness of one. That approach first got him recognition and, finally, a portfolio that includes roles with directors like Priyadarshan, Gulzar, Mahesh Bhatt, Govind Nihalani, Rajiv Rai, J P Dutta...

Shetty was born in Mangalore and whisked almost immediately away to Bombay -- to be precise, south Bombay, where India's haute monde is located. Scion of a family of restaurateurs though he was Shetty had little time to feed the hungry. Instead, he grew up to roar through the cityscape on his motorbike. His wife Mana used to love riding too. That's what got them together. Part of the price of fame, of course, is that now they can't ride around as freely.

Off his wheels, Shetty used to swing a wicked willow at the nets. Till the politics of the game got to him, he says.

Click for bigger pic

"One day I just dropped the bat and walked out, never to return." He hopes to make the dream vicariously at least, hoping his son becomes a top cricketer.

"I still cry when I see our team win and am depressed when they lose. The game affects me adversely," he says.

Shetty never fitted into the traditional family mould. He was expected to get into the hotel business, but he chose instead to vend clothes, which he loved anyway. He opened Mischief, a boutique at Breach Candy, which was a big hit. Now, he has two franchisees for the boutique and has ventured back into restaurants.

"I have this restaurant called Mischief Dining Bar where I go every Sunday and meet these kids who come to see me. Good for the business too," he laughs.

He was a health freak then, as now. Seeing the body he developed at the gym, friends suggested he get into modelling. He did and, therefrom, into movies. He had the body; he assumed the roles would follow. In his first film Main Balwaan with Divya Bharti, most of the muscles he flexed weren't on his face. It bombed.

Unfazed, Shetty went about his business, signed more films, got into a controversy with good friend Akshay Kumar, had two kids he adores and kept the media happy with lots of interviews. Astute businessman, he remembered that in Bollywood being out of sight was out of mind.

Shetty decided that action and songs made Hindi film hits. Action came naturally to him, but dancing didn't. So he decided to work on it. The difference from Kya ada kya jalwe tere, Paro, where he looks stiff and slow to Shaher ki ladki, where he was a nice mix of power and grace, is evident.

Click for bigger pic

He picked films with good songs, believing the popularity of the tunes would boost his career. More than anything else, he ensured the character he played was important. Despite all that shrewd planning, his films began flopping and soon everybody began writing him off.

But Shetty's clean reputation -- a rarity these days -- ensured people did not forget him. So he kept signing films with actresses like Karisma Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. Around this time he reasoned it was time to seek out good directors, if only because they gave an actor respectability, even if the film wasn't a hit.

"Success and failure don't matter. When the audience comes out of the theatre, they should remember your role and appreciate you for it. They should not forget you." In marketing terms, which, doubtless, Shetty is familiar with, it is known as maintaining one's visibility.

That was when J P Dutta, who had made a name as a good director with this strange habit of laying eggs at the BO, was scouting around for a hero. Shetty got the role in Border because he had a good physique and because many leading men were worried about the fate of a Dutta film. Shetty says he was and is in awe of Dutta.

"To a Sunil Shetty, J P Dutta was god," he says piously. The other reason he took the role -- he played a BSF officer -- was that "it was about my country and I am proud to be an Indian. This was a chance to portray a role which was patriotic. And I jumped at the chance." Whatever the reason, Border was a hit and finally offers with interesting price tags attached poured in.

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"I still refuse films offered to me at phenomenal prices and am doing some for peanuts. I think I have reached a position today to do something like that," he muses. The businessman decided that good directors would have him cheaper. He is sure good films will consolidate his position in the industry for another two years, at least.

Prithvi, released soon after Border, bombed at the box office. But Shetty attributes the failure to bad timing.

"Gulshan Kumar had the rights for the music and he died. We didn't get good theatres to release it. One thing led to another and the publicity suffered. It was a good film though." He hastens to assure you that he is not apportioning blame. That's the nicest thing about Sunil Shetty -- he never complains.

"I have realised I am a director's actor," he says. He believes his upcoming film with Gulzar is revolutionary, it will make people sit up and think. Despite the songs and dances.

"All these directors are connected with serious cinema. Even J P Dutta's film was one," he claims.

While he thirsts for acceptance, he is quick to clarify that it doesn't mean he plans to become an "art" film actor.

"My forte is action and it will always remain so." He admit he is still at a loss where acting's concerned. "I don't know what it is all about. I am learning," he says with surprising candour.

Shetty in Border

After action, song and dances, he wants to try his hand at comedy. He did it once with a film called Gopi Kishan. "It was received well. So I think I will do some more."

He says he has stopped signing films with new directors. "But with good directors you know they have their own audience. It feels good to just concentrate on your work and know that people will see the film for the director, if not for the star... As long as I get good roles, I don't care about the money," he says.

"Five films stretched over two years is not much, but that's the way I want it." He has been threatening to quit the industry than take on more work. Retirement seems far-fetched today, and he is going full steam ahead with several assignments.

"My future looks bright and focused. I will enter the next year with a positive approach. I am thinking like a businessman now. What sells is what I will be associated with."

And as you get up to leave, he admits casually, "I need an another Border very soon."

Honest to goodness!