Suniel Shetty is one of Bollywood’s most loved stars. Over the years, he has delivered many hits — from action films like ‘Mohra’, ‘Border’ and ‘Dhadkan’ to comedy favourites such as ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Awara Paagal Deewana’ and ‘Phir Hera Pheri’. The actor, who himself is a proud Mangalorean, recently revealed why he does not take up many offers from the South film industry.
Suniel Shetty says South industry offers mostly negative roles
In a recent chat with The Lallantop, the ‘Balwaan’ actor shared openly that he does receive offers from the South, but most of them are for negative characters. He said, “I do get offers (from the South) but unfortunately, what happens is, you will notice this trend that we get offers for negative roles. They want to cast the Hindi heroes as powerful… from an antagonistic point of view, (they say) that’s good for the screen and for the audience. And that is one thing that I don’t like.”He explained that many South films cast Bollywood actors as villains to make the local hero look more powerful on screen. For Suniel, this repeated pattern no longer interests him.
Rajinikanth role chosen for personal dream
Suniel further explained that the only time he agreed to play a negative role in the South was for a special reason. He took up the role in Rajinikanth’s film ‘Darbar’ simply because he always wanted to work with the superstar. “I did a film with Rajini sir only because I wanted to tick that box of having worked with him,” he said. It was a personal milestone for him, something he had dreamt of for years.
Actor supports Tulu cinema with cameo
Even though he turns down many South offers, Suniel remains deeply connected to his roots. He recently did a cameo in a Tulu film titled ‘Jai’ only because he wanted to support cinema from Karnataka. He shared, “Recently, I did a small Tuku film just to encourage the film which is doing really well, it’s called Jai.” ‘Jai’ grew to become one of the most widely screened Tulu films in recent times.
Suniel Shetty says content matters more than language
Suniel also spoke about how cinema has evolved in today’s world. He believes that language is no longer a barrier when it comes to films. Audiences now watch stories from every region as long as the content is strong. He said, “Today, there is no language barrier. If there is a barrier, then it’s perhaps because of the content. If your content is good, it will cross all barriers.”
Suniel Shetty on the work front
In 2025, Suniel was seen in ‘Kesari Veer’ and ‘Nadaaniyan’. He continues to stay active on screen with big projects lined up. He will next be seen in the comedy-drama ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, directed by Ahmed Khan. The film features a massive ensemble including Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Lara Dutta, Disha Patani, Raveena Tandon and others.Suniel is also part of the highly awaited ‘Hera Pheri 3’, which already has fans excited because of the success of the earlier films.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source timesofindia.indiatimes.com ’
