Bollywood stars used to receive frequent calls from individuals claiming underworld connections, who would threaten the actors for money and more. Actor Suniel Shetty also dealt with these threats in a way that even left the police astonished. Suniel has now opened up about how he handled them.Suniel about getting threatening calls
In a conversation with Lallantop, Suniel recounted how he faced calls from gangsters during the height of the underworld’s influence over Mumbai’s film industry. He said that during the 90s, the Shettys were known to be aggressive and united, as they had faced a lot of pressure in Mumbai. They even had their own gang that stood up against the underworld. Since he shared the same surname, gangsters tried to intimidate him to scare others into paying extortion money.Suniel described how the threats would come to various locations — his home, office, and even his manager’s residence. “Maybe they thought that if they scare him, then other Shettys will also start paying hafta out of fear. Toh ek din Hemant Pujari ne mujhe phone karke bola ki tere pitaji jab subah 5-5.30 baje walk ke liye jaate hain, tab main unhe goli maar doonga. Toh mujhse raha nahi gaya. Maine bhi usse gaali de di. Use bolne hi nahi diya maine.” (So one day Hemant Pujari called me and said that when your father goes for a walk at 5–5:30 in the morning, I will shoot him. I couldn’t hold myself back. I also abused him. I didn’t even let him speak.) he added.Suniel’s brave reply to the mystery man Suniel did not lose his calm demeanour but made sure to give the person a strong reply. He told the caller that he knew more about him than the caller knew about Suniel.“Maine bataya usko ki uski behnein kahaan rehti hain, uske chaar bhai kahaan hain, uska saala kahaan hai. Maine bola mere paas tujhse zyada paise bhi hain aur connections bhi. Aur ek 70–80 saal ke aadmi ko goli maar ke kya kar loge? Yeh karke kehna kya chahte ho? Aur maine gaaliyan de di. Yeh call record ho gaya tha. Mere paas security thi.”The ‘Hera Pheri’ actor presented the recordings to the Mumbai Police. Suniel recalled that the police warned him not to provoke the gangsters, as they acted without thinking and could cause real harm. Though he remained calm for over a year, he explained that small-time members of Hemant Pujari’s gang were trying to rise by threatening him — all for money, which was common in Mumbai at the time.Work FrontOn the work front, Suniel was last seen in Kesari Veer, which hit theatres on May 23. The film also features Vivek Oberoi and Sooraj Pancholi in key roles.
