Suniel Shetty brings back old debate, questions why films focus on Akbar, Babur: 'Should be about Vedas, Rajputs…'

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty talked about his love for the Somnath Temple in a recent interview. His film, Kesari Veer, was inspired by the Gujarat temple; however, it did not work at the box office. Talking about it, Shetty said that the failure of Kesari Veer was due to poor distribution and not its content.

Suniel Shetty on Kesari Veer failure

Talking to Lehren Retro, Suniel Shetty narrated how his team ensured every detail of the film through research before hitting the shooting floors.

Shetty said, “We did a lot of research before making the film, but unfortunately, the distribution of the film was not done properly." Stressing the importance of the release strategy of a film, the actor added, “Distribution is a big game, we didn’t get theatres. Producer lost a lot of money because he was distributing it himself with people and that didn’t work. A good film went down the drain."

Going beyond the box office numbers, Suniel Shetty shared his love for the subject of Kesari Veer. He said that he was deeply attached to the Somnath Temple and its history. "I feel strongly and emotional about Somnath temple. How many times it was plundered but it is still standing," he praised.

Suniel Shetty on on Akbar, Babur, Birbal focused films

Suniel Shetty went on to question the kind of historical narratives that are often seen in Indian films and textbooks. “Why do we talk about Aurangzeb, Akbar, Babur, Birbal?" he asked and added, “Our history should be about our culture. It should be about Vedas and the Rajputs and Shivaji Maharaj and everybody else, every hero of every state should be spoken about."

Previously, it was Akshay Kumar who talked about how history is presented in Indian textbooks. During the promotion of his film Prithviraj Chauhan, Kumar said, “Unfortunately, our history textbooks only have 2-3 lines about Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, but a lot has been mentioned about the invaders.”

He also added that there is “hardly anything mentioned about our culture and our Maharajas."

The debate surrounding Somnath’s legacy resurfaced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Gujarat temple to commemorate 1,000 years since its first recorded invasion in 1026.

Suniel Shetty's work

On the work front, Suniel Shetty recently marked a special cameo appearance in Border 2. The film also starred his son Ahan Shetty alongside Sunny Deol in the lead. Besides them, Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Dhawan are also a part of the war drama.

Shetty is also set to star in Welcome To The Jungle, alongside Akshay Kumar. Shetty will also be reprising his role in Hera Pheri 3.