The time when Pahlaj Nihalani made Suniel Shetty feel utterly destroyed

The time was of the 90s, and action as a genre was turning a new leaf in Bollywood, almost creating a trend. Many macho stars like Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and more, were gaining popularity for their action movies. And that was the time when yet another actor arrived, and went on to make a name for himself in the said genre. No points for guessing, it was none other than actor Suniel Shetty who went on to dominate the 90s with his action movies like ‘Mohra’, ‘Bhai’, ‘Anth’ and more. Recently, the actor is in news for making a comeback after a gap of almost three years, with an extended cameo in the soon to release ‘A Gentleman’. His new look and presence is indeed a treat for the audiences who are more than curious to see him back on big screen.

Well, it can be rightly said that the actor is all set to kickstart his second innings, but, recently we stumbled upon an old interview of the actor when he recalled a period when he felt completely destroyed. And the reason behind this traumatic feeling was shockingly none other than Pahlaj Nihalani. Yes! You heard that right. (Also Read: Suniel Shetty has a drastically different take on nepotism)

Today, the ones who adore and follow cinema would surely be aware of Pahlaj Nihalani, who is the current chief of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The honcho of the certification board is in the news every now and then for his stringent policies that restrict the liberty of cinema, that too for reasons that are mostly laughable. But, leaving that aside, many would be aware of this fact that Pahlaj Nihalani was once a producer who made films like ‘Ilzaam’, ‘Aag Ka Gola’, ‘Aankhen’ and ‘Shola Aur Shabnam’. It was during the time of early 90s when Suniel Shetty was running his restaurant and had even started his own fashion store named Mischief. As the actor was trying to enter Bollywood, it was Pahlaj Nihalani with whom he signed his first film titled ‘Arzoo’. But, the film was stopped and Nihalani offered him another film ‘Ek Aur Faulad’ which eventually faced the same fate like the earlier one and was later shelved.

In his interview with a film magazine in the year 1994, Suniel Shetty was questioned on his backlog of B and C grade movies, which could be a hindrance in his career. To which, he replied by saying, “Early in my career I was ditched by Pahlaj Nihalani. It completely destroyed me when he scrapped a film starring me after nine reels. And then he decided to shelve the second one. Beggars cannot be choosers. I just wanted films. Whoever came to me I signed on.”

Somewhere during this whole unfortunate experience with Nihalani, producer Raju Mavani spotted the actor and offered him ‘Balwaan’, which later turned out to be Suniel’s debut film in Bollywood.

Amod Pandit

Quiet, resonant, and creative, he can be seen immersed in his own world, and puts in his heart and soul into the one passion that he has, Bollywood. His line for survival? Feel happy to be a part of it.