Suniel Shetty has had an illustrious career and he is credited with several hit projects. Nevertheless, his success didn’t come easy, and the actor had to face his fair share of struggle. It was his kids who pushed him to shed blood, sweat and tears, to attain success in life. In a recent interview, Suniel Shetty talked about why he decided to not send his kids to an Indian school.
The Hera Pheri actor contended that he was aware that he'd have to work hard for sending them to American schools as his dad too reminded him that would cost them ‘a lot of money.’ He also touched upon how his daughter Athiya decided to enter the film business even after getting her college admission in Atlanta.
Suniel Shetty made his debut in 1992 with Balwaan, however, he attained fame following the success of Mohra and Gopi Kishan in 1994. He was last seen in the Amazon Mini TV series Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega, which marked his OTT debut.
In a candid conversation with Nikhil Kamath Suniel Shetty reminisced about the struggle of his initial years in the industry when film critics slammed his films. The actor said that it not only impacted him, but his family as well. He also said that he wanted his kids to experience a normal upbringing without any special treatment.
“I made sure that I did not send my kids to an Indian school, but (to the one which) was headed by an American board and had faculty that was American because I did not want anybody to treat them either special, as a celebrity kid or pan them for whose children they are. I said let them go into a world that doesn’t care who they are and somewhere down the line, I think that worked for me. I still remember my dad saying ‘That’s a lot of money’,” he told Nikhil Kamath.
Much like him, his kids Athiya Shetty and Ahan Shetty too joined the film industry. Talking about them, Suniel said he never ‘nudged’ his kids towards acting.
He told Nikhil Kamath, “It’s their decision. As a matter of fact, we went to Atlanta for Athiya, she saw the college, everything done, loved it, got admission. On our way back, she told me at the airport ‘You know papa, I am not really happy doing this.’ I asked ‘What do you want to do?’ She said ‘I want to be in the business of films and entertainment. I said ‘Baby, it’s a lovely place, but will you be able to accept failure?’ because that is very stressful. That Friday kills me every time and it’s the anxiety that kills me, and nothing else.”
Suniel Shetty tied the knot with Mana Shetty on 25 December 1991 and they are blessed with two kids, Athiya and Ahan, who made their Bollywood debuts with Hero and Tadap respectively.
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