Suniel Shetty: “If I’ve done even 10 per cent of Vinod Khanna from ‘Dayavan’ and Kamal Haasan from ‘Nayakan’ in ‘Dharavi Bank’, then…” – Exclusive

Suniel Shetty describes his role of Thalaivan in the upcoming MX Player series ‘Dharavi Bank’ as one of the most challenging and satisfying roles of his career. “If I have done even 10 per cent of what Vinod Khanna did in ‘Dayavan’ and Kamal Haasan did in ‘Nayakan’, I would have done justice to the two stars who I have always been a fan of,” he told ETimes, last night.

Ask him about his toughest scene in ‘Dharavi Bank’, Suniel says that the family feud scenes were the toughest. “It’s a great role that I have got to play. There is so much of thehrav in Thailavan’s character. At times, he is very worried about his family. At times, he has to bottle up his emotions.”

Adds Suniel, “This show, ‘Dharavi Bank’, is mind blowing. It allowed me to play Thalaivan, whom the police could not draw out for 20 years. They had to draw him out by drawing out his family. He was fearless and dominated 52 acres of Dharavi and each house in those 52 acres was his own. It was an experience to essay Thalaivan. There couldn’t have been a bigger dream for OTT. And, I have done my best.”

Such a role can go into the comic space if an actor does not hold himself back. “That’s right,” says Suniel, “And I was conscious of that fact. Thalaivan was not a joker and I didn’t want the character to look like a caricature.”

Suniel Shetty and Vivek Oberoi go back a long way. Suniel says, “Vivek is fantastic in the show.”