Suniel Shetty tells Shehnaaz Gill how he became known as Anna, says Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt started it

Actor Suniel Shetty recently appeared on Shehnaaz Gill’s talk show Desi Vibes. The actor, who is also a businessman, discussed how his investments served as his safety net because when he first started acting, critics weren’t on his side. Suniel also revealed how Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt started the trend of calling him ‘Anna (Brother)’.

On the talk show, Suniel opened up about his business ventures, and said, “I was a businessman and I had done hotel management. When I got out, my father said, ‘You have one life, try your luck.’ And the films worked, but critics were not in favour of me. Hence, I was scared, ‘Will this career sustain and for how long will it sustain?’ And that’s why I never left my business. It is important to be financially secure. When I was sure that acting was my career, I kept investing, but I stopped doing business.”  The actor advised Shehnaaz not to venture into business because she has already become a brand, and told her to focus on acting, “You are doing well for yourself.”

 

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Suniel added that he is happy that he got the tag of ‘action hero.’ Shehnaaz then asked Suniel why he’s fondly referred to as ‘Anna’. The actor said that the name took off after Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt started calling him that, and said, “We were shooting for Kaante in LA, and a few of my staff would call me Anna. Then, Sanjay Dutt started this and called me Anna. He said, ‘Agar Sanjay Dutt ke haath mai kuch lag jaata hain na, toh woh chipak jaata hai.”

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Suniel will next be seen on the web show Hunter: Tootega Nahi Todega. The show will be released on Amazon Mini TV.