Salman keeps encouraging us

Captain of 'The Mumbai Heroes' Suniel Shetty on his passion for movies, cricket and more

Suniel Shetty (right) with Anil Dhanak, CEO, Kanz Jewels in front of the world's largest ring worth US$3 million

When you meet Suniel Shetty, you feel he’s getting younger and fitter with time. At 50, he has rock hard abs and bulging arms that actors half his age would kill for. Just hours before hitting the Sharjah stadium for the big celebrity studded ‘Celebrity Cricket league’ this weekend Suniel, dressed dapper in jeans and looking through his cool aviators chatted with Masala!

The setting was the glittering and glamorous showroom of Kanz Jewels in Dubai’s Gold Souk in Deira, where apart from Suniel, the world’s largest gold ring as recorded by the Guinness Book Of World Records, ‘Najmat Taiba’ manufactured by Taiba, Saudi Arabia, caught everyone’s attention. We cornered Bollywood’s muscle man for a detailed chat.

How does it feel to pose in front of the world’s largest gold ring? 
It’s unreal. How else do I describe my feelings after seeing a ring that weighs 64 kilos and is worth over US$ 3 million? But I am simply amazed by the inventory of jewellery here in Kanz. They have collections from all over the world. I wish I had got into the jewellery business as well.

You’re captaining ‘The Mumbai Heroes,’ which is owned by Salman. Is it an immense responsibility? 
We have a very good team that practises regularly. But you know that Sharjah Cricket Stadium is the home ground for Mumbai Heroes, plus the 20-20 format demands quick play so there is a lot of pressure.

What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of your team? 
Our biggest plus point is that we are a strong unit this year compared to the last. We have good players such as Riteish Deshmukh, Aftab Shivadasani and also other all-rounders. On the downside, we don’t get to play cricket throughout the year so the lack of practice can make us rusty sometimes.

The Indian cricket team has been performing very poorly of late. What would your advice be to the team as a fan and lover of the sport? 
I would advise them to stay away from the media. A lot pressure builds up on the players with constant news about what went wrong in their matches, who should be dropped from the squad, who deserves to be in the team and so on. What we need to realise is that cricket is a mindgame. On the field and even away from it, you need to have a positive mind so that nothing fazes you. The Aussies and the English are perhaps good examples for this. One thing that we don’t have to worry about is talent. We have a great bunch of players. It’s only that we aren’t able to come together as a unit and perform.

We’re interested to know about Salman’s role in the team apart from being the owner… 
Salman is a cricket freak although he doesn’t play it. He keeps encouraging us from time to time to give in our best for any match. He keeps telling us that although there is great pressure with 30-40,000 people watching and cheering for you, just forget the fact that you’re a good actor and that you need to live up to their expectations. Instead just think of yourself as a cricketer who is out there only to think of his game and nothing else.

Professionally, you are quite different from most actors because you have ventured into production, direction and hotel management. How do you mange to do all these things while acting in films? 
Fortunately I have a very good team that supports me in these ventures. Plus, I believe it’s very important to have passion for whatever you’re doing. I have always been business-minded. Movies happened to be by chance. I always believed in having an alternate plan apart from acting and that is probably why I wanted to spread out.

What would your advice be to budding entrepreneurs?
Believe in yourself; learn to manage time, money and also how to handle both success and failure.

What are your upcoming movies? 
Action seems to be the flavour for this year. Mithun Chakraborty’s ‘Enemy,’ is packed with action and is one of the movies that’s been completed while shooting for the other movies is still going on. There’s also ‘Chai Garam’ which is very different. It’s a romantic comedy.