“It’s not so much of an action thriller as a mind games flick,” says Suniel Shetty of Koyelaanchal due for release on May 9. He’s been touring the length and breadth of the country to promote his film and exhaustion is an understatement. “I don’t want to let the producers down. Vinodji (Khanna) and I are the only known faces in this film and the rest, though supremely good, are not known. He (Vinod) is busy with the elections and campaigning so that leaves only me!”
It’s a late evening chat but Suniel is passionate about the coal mafia issue dealt with in the movie directed by Ashu Trikha and gets talking instantly. “We shot in Jharkhand and even today if you step into these coal-rich areas such as Jharia or Ranchi, you see toxic smoke and fire running for kilometers. We were told that they are abandoned coal mines. The miners get an approval for ‘N’ number of trucks of sand to quash the coal fire after mining. But they put in only a fraction of sand in it thereafter. And people are living dangerously close, only feet away from these mines. The locals feel that the government has turned mafia after nationalisation whereas the government wants to break their stronghold,” he says.
Koyelaanchal is the story of how upright IAS officer Nisheeth Kumar (Suniel) takes on the might of local coal mafioso Saryu Bhan Singh (Vinod Khanna) and turns his own game against him. “I was spurred on by the response to my film
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Suniel says that he is looking at striking a balance between good work and living life king size. “I have made some mistakes like signing films with anyone who came with an emotional appeal. I never had the backing of a Yash Chopra or a Karan Johar but I’ve given hits. I tried my hand at production, which took three years of my life and didn’t succeed. It took me a year to clear up that mess. After that, I had a serious migraine problem for a year. Homeopathy cured it and now I am back in business. I believe in aging gracefully. So I wish to do only age-appropriate roles,” says the 53-year-old.
Suniel’s daughter Athiya is poised to enter films with Salman’s first solo production
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT