Actor or entrepreneur?

He is both.

He was happy being businessman, until photographer J P Singhal happened to click a few pictures which he showed to filmmaker Pahlaj Nihalani.

He was hardly star material, but Nihalani saw his hidden potential. He was Sunil Shetty's stepping stone to stardom. Even as he was working on Nihalani's Waqt Hamara Hai (Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Jhulka, Mamta Kulkarni), Shetty was signed on for Raju Mavani's Balwaan (Divya Bharti) which was, eventually, his first release.

To everyone's surprise, Balwaan did decent business. The Sunil Shetty who was written off before the film's release was praised to the stars. His ability for action films with his perfect physique became his strength. Take Waqt Hamara Hai, Hum Hain Bemisaal, Pehchaan.

The films fared reasonably. And then came the low budgeted Anth -- it was a smash hit. Followed by Gopi Kishen, Dilwale and Mohra. With these films, a new facet of Sunil Shetty was exposed -- a comedian. The soft romantic hero act was appreciated in Dilwale. While he was back to kicking ass in Mohra, along with action hero Akshay Kumar.

A chain of flops ensued -- Takkar, Sapoot, Suraksha, Shastra, Vishwasghat, Krishna and Rakshak. The only plus was that most of these films with their hit songs (Oh Paro, Jhanjariya, Sundara sundara and Shaher ki ladki) got him known as a dancer, too.

Then came J P Dutta's Border -- a boon to the soft-spoken actor's career. His performance won the critics over and, for once, everyone agreed that he could act, too.

Gulzar, Ram Gopal Varma, Priyadarshan, J P Dutta and Dharmesh Darshan with Hu TuTu, Jungle, Hera Pheri, Refugee and Dhadkan respectively, presented Sunil Shetty in different light.

But the action hero tag stayed. As Sunil continued to act in mindless action potboilers like Vinashak, Prithvi, Aakrosh, Krodh, Officer and Itefaq , obliging the producers and friends who had stood by him in his time of need.

A family man to the core, Sunil who, married his longtime girlfriend Manna before he entered the industry, is a father of two children, Athiya and Ahaan. He also maintains a squeaky clean reputation.

Sunil has also never considered acting as his only source of income. Although he does admit that his business has benefited by his acting career. His latest venture -- Popcorn Entertaiment -- will soon produce a film to be directed by E Niwas. With films like Mahesh Manjerekar's Ehsaas, Sanjay Gupta's Kaante, Kundan Shah's Kasam Se, J P Dutta's Tiger Hill and Priyadarshan's Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar in hand, Shetty is doing exceptionally well.

For someone who contemplated quitting the industry at one time, it sure looks like he's here to stay for good.

Presenting the different faces of Sunil Shetty

Text: Sukanya Verma