Why cater to an audience abroad?, asks Suniel Shetty

Suniel Shetty, who is back on screen with ‘Loot’, talks about his contemporaries and his decision to take a break from production
So, you are working with Govinda in “Loot”.
Yes, I’m doing the film with Govinda, Mimoh and Jaaved Jaffery. I play a vasooli agent, the right-hand man of an underworld don. The movie is about a robbery.
Your movies are getting far and few by the years.
True. For two years I dabbled in production. I realized that I couldn’t handle acting and production together. So, for that time, acting took a backseat. But then I gave up production too and decided to come back to acting. The producers of this film know me well and it’s on their insistence that I took up this movie.
You won’t produce any more films?
It’s not like I won’t produce movies anymore. It’s just that those two years were a little too much for me. The money involved in making a movie is huge and it’s very stressful to handle those things. But yes, I’ll produce a film when I launch my son.
And when will that happen?
These days the competition is tough. There are so many talented youngsters who work hard at making it in showbiz. My son needs to be well trained in all aspects of filmmaking before he takes the plunge.
Your contemporaries like Akshay, Salman and Shah Rukh are still setting the BO on fire.
I’m glad my contemporaries are still setting the cash registers ringing. I’m happy that Salman’s “Bodyguard” and “Dabangg” did roaring business . You know there was a time when we concentrated a lot on single screen theatres. Then the multiplex culture came in. Now we are back to the single screens. And for that, all credit goes to Salman. It is because he not only concentrated on the swish multiplex audience, but also those who go to the single screens in small towns. And to be honest, why cater to an audience abroad when we have more than a billion people here?
You mean you don’t believe in catering to the NRI market?
There is no need. For example, I don’t understand why a film like “Ra.One” needs to be peddled in the overseas market when you have more than a billion people in India, who are willing to watch a film three to four times.
But the NRI market contributes a lot to the movie’s collections.
Yes, I do know that. But people tend to forget that we are a nation of more than a billion people. Plus, these days everyone is looking at India to peddle their goods. All the Hollywood studios want to make Hindi films or release their English flick here in a grand way. At a time when the world is coming to India, it makes no sense to go out there and make a “crossover” film. Our films are automatically crossover due to their subject. Plus, where else will you find that song and dance routine that the West loves?
On a different note, your charity organization is regularly involved in bringing international acts to the country. The recent Metallica concert in Gurgaon faced the same end result as your Bryan Adams concert last year.
Honestly, I don’t know why it happened. As far as I’m concerned, I bring international acts because the proceeds of the concert go to my charity. I have always worked with professionals with great reputation, who are brilliant at their jobs. After the Bryan Adams tour, we brought Akon and he rocked Bangalore. My experience so far has been good, except for the Bryan Adam concert cancellation in Delhi. That’s because there is too much bureaucracy in our country. But at the same time, The Indian Grand Prix was a massive success. And all credit to the government who worked alongside a private organization to put up a good show in front of the whole world. That’s how it’s supposed to be for music as well. After the Metallica fiasco, I don’t think anyone would want to come and play in our country. We have the money and the fans, we just need to be a little more organized.