Suniel Shetty on his friendship with Sanjay Dutt: We faced tough times during 9/11 while shooting 'Kaante'

Suniel Shetty and Sanjay Dutt

Over the years, Bollywood actors Suniel Shetty and Sanjay Dutt have worked together in multiple films. Off-screen, too, they share a great bond. On International Friendship Day 2024, we recall how facing tough times brought the two closer and forged a friendship for a lifetime.

"Well, I think when you admire someone, you appreciate something about each other, it works like magic," said Suniel Shetty in an interview with mid-day.com talking about his friendship with Sanjay Dutt.

He further said, "It just works like magic. We're not into each other's skin. If there's any trouble, then he will call me and I will ask if there is anything I can do. Likewise, he'll call and say, 'you know what, I feel like eating kohri roti yaar, send me khaana'. We've taken each other for granted. And I think we see each other's good side. That's the way he is. That's the way I am. It works very well for us otherwise there can be a lot of negativity. There are negative things in all of us and then relations don't work."

Further recalling how they became thick friends, Suniel recalled their days shooting for Sanjay Gupta's film 'Kaante' in the United States of America in 2001. "We've clicked it off ever since 'Kaante'. We spent a lot of time together, faced tough times as 9/11 was on. We had gone to shoot for 'Kaante' and every second hour the alarm used to go off. There was unrest there, but we had to shoot. We saw tough times and when you do all that together you always huddle together, whether it was at shoot, or whether it was after shoot. We couldn't go out of the hotel. So we were spending time with each other and it just worked."

The duo last shared screen for an episode of 'Star Vs Food Survival' on discovery+. Suniel Shetty and Sanjay Dutt along with host chef Ranveer Brar cooked a meal in the midst of the picturesque Coorg while battling the challenges that nature has to offer. Talking about the show with Dutt, Shetty had said, "We share an unbelievable relationship which shows on the screen. Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) is another level entertainer when it comes to his wise cracks and one liners. We just get along like a house of fire."

When asked what seemed more like a challenge, cooking in the wild of dealing with Sanjay Dutt, the actor quickly picks the latter. "Dealing with Sanjay Dutt, his language and his stories. He doesn't know what he says; his one liners, his gaaliyas (abuses)."