Koyelaanchal, which talks about the coal mafia in a rural Indian town, may not have caught the fancy of all cinegoers, but Suniel Shetty, who over the course of his career has played big parts and small, says it is a film he is proud of. He did it because it shows the stark reality of people living in rural Indian pockets, something people living in cities are ignorant about. The film attracted the actor because of its real and interesting situations and backdrop. But Shetty, who is known as an action hero, had to learn from scratch about his character, the upright District Collector Nisheeth Kumar. “It was the first time I was playing a character who has the intellectual power, but not the physical strength. As an action hero, getting the correct body language was difficult. I am used to doing films where if I am in a tense situation I come out of it by beating up 10-20 people. Here even in a tense situation I had to be in control. I have explored other genres, like comedy in Hera Pheri, but this proved to be tougher." "On the other hand, shooting in Jharkhand was interesting as it was a location I had never seen before. There you have people living 10 feet away from fire, smoke and toxic chemicals, and their second language is ‘cough’,” the actor said, sounding a tad concerned. And now there’s Desi Kattey coming right on the heels of Shetty’s bureaucrat swagger in Koyelaanchal. A film he says is very, very different. Based on the underbelly of gun running in India, the film talks about the journey about children who make and use guns. “These boys kill for money. Desi Kattey talks about two such boys, who my character a pistol shooting coach, spots in a shootout in a market, and realises their expertise as sharp shooters. He tells them they could make the country proud. But one wants to become a don and leaves, while the other begins his journey in the shooting arena with me,” explains the actor, who trained extensively with ace coach Pritpal Singh Bedi to perfect his shooting skills. On his shift from a movie star to a movie actor, Shetty says he is enjoying the phase, doing these interesting films where he plays his age. In fact after Desi Kattey the audience can catch him in Shooter which has just wrapped up. It’s about an encounter cop, played by Shetty, and an informer and how his character takes up for him when he is in trouble. “This is a very interesting phase where I can experiment with different characters. But I must mention that if an actor wants to continue working he has to make sure he works on himself. I have worked on my health and fitness every day to make sure that I stay fit. Otherwise I have always been very content and secure as an actor. When my films do well I don’t make a noise about it, and I am not affected by failure,” said Shetty who is also looking forward to doing Hera Pheri 4 a sequel to the hilarious Hera Pheri and Hera Pheri 2. Besides charting his own career Shetty is keenly following his daughter Athiya’s progress who is making her debut in Nikhil Advani’s remake of the 80s Hero. “ Athiya is a very hardworking girl, and I can see that she is doing well. She’s so excited when she comes back from work and wants to discuss everything. I am convinced she will do well in the acting and dance department and confident that she has it in her,” he said sounding pleased.
