"Sabbatical Made Me Think If I Remembered Acting", Says Suniel Shetty On His Film "Pailwaan"

Bollywood superstar Suniel Shetty is quite upbeat about his maiden venture into the Kannada film industry.

Suniel Shetty stars in upcoming Kannada action drama, Pailwaan, alongside Kannada star Kichcha Sudeep. Today, at the trailer launch of the film, which marks Suniel’s debut in Kannada cinema, the actor spoke about the fear that engulfed him during his sabbatical.

“For four years I didn’t work. I was in a frame of mind where I didn’t know what to do. I was confused about whether I wanted to continue working or I didn’t want to work. But when something good comes to you, you also want to test waters. You get this feeling of doubt, what do you remember even to act? I was going through that stage. Not a very good frame of mind,” Suniel Shetty told the reporters.

What, however, decided to do Pailwaan easier for Suniel was the film’s subject that he said was “up my alley.”

“It’s Kannada, not that I was very familiar with the language because I speak Thullu, but it’s also my turf, territory. It was a good subject and up my alley. I don’t think I even debated. I said yes because somewhere down the line you know you’re in safer waters, that this film has an ‘X’ amount of audience because of Sudeep and Krishna (S Krishna, film’s director). I am happy I did it. There’s cross-pollination. Actors are doing films across the board so, I am glad I took the decision.”

Suniel also said that he loved the fact he was playing his age in the film, which has him in the role of Sudeep’s mentor. “I’m playing his mentor, father figure. It was exciting because of that. It’s always best to play your age and it has come out beautifully. Krishna and Sudeep have managed my character very well.”

A sports drama, Pailwaan is written and directed by Krishna. The film marks the director’s second collaboration with Sudeep after Hebbuli in 2017. Pailwaan is a story of a wrestler who fights for pride and love for the sports.

The upcoming film has created a lot of interest thanks to Sudeep’s ripped physique as he is playing a wrestle-turned-boxer in the movie. It also stars Aakanksha Singh, Sushant Singh, Kabir Duhan Singh, Sharath Lohitashwa and Avinash among others. The film will be released on September 12 in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam by Zee Studios.