Suniel Shetty is all set to portray the brave warrior Vegda Ji in his upcoming historical drama Kesari Veer: Legends of Somnath. Directed by Prince Dhiman and produced by Kanu Chauhan, the film also stars Vivek Oberoi, Sooraj Pancholi, and debutant Akanksha Sharma. At the trailer launch event held recently, Shetty addressed the importance of bringing India’s lesser-known historical heroes to the screen, while reflecting on the current definition of success in cinema.
“We haven’t been taught about our history in schools and colleges. We’ve been taught about Aurangzeb, Akbar, and Birbal, but not about our heroes. I think that the time is now to tell those untold stories,” Shetty said. The actor emphasized the changing mindset of audiences and the increasing reach of content today, adding, “There are multiple mediums through which these stories can reach them, till the last mile, till the end user. I believe that we’ve forgotten that there is an audience who desires to watch films. They are responsible for the success and failure of a film.”
Reflecting on the current industry perspective, Shetty said, “We think a film has achieved success when it looks successful on the financial table. But that’s not how it is. Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing this for the past few years. I think it’s important that we go back to the drawing table and take out such stories and narrate them in our own way.”
Pointing out India’s cultural richness, he continued, “We have 28 states and 9 union territories, and each state and each union territory has its own story. Kanu Chauhan came up and said that he wants to tell the story of Gujarat. Maybe I would not know as much, maybe I would want to talk about the story from Karnataka. Stories will be told when actors, directors, and producers tell them.”
He concluded with a message on creative confidence: “We speak about comparing our films, and it’s that fear that is stopping us. It’s important to let go of the fear and start believing in ourselves and execute the films that make sense, and not necessarily financial sense only. People will watch this story, hear it, and stories like these will be told in the future also.”
Kesari Veer: Legends of Somnath is slated for release on May 16, 2025.
The post Suniel Shetty says, “Time is ripe for stories of Indian warriors” as he gears up for Kesari Veer appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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