There is a smile on our face this workday morning. Surprising, because for someone who is not a morning person, an interview before 10 am is not typically ideal. But actor-entrepreneur Suniel Shetty, who is on the other end of the telephone call, has regaled us with stories and life lessons. It’s what has won him a new pool of fans on LinkedIn—at last count, his follower base was at 5,52,820.

It’s rather unusual for a Bollywood actor to take to a business and employment-focused social media platform. “This was my biggest fear too,” says the 62-year-old, “it’s not an actor’s medium. I dilly-dallied for long, questioning if I should be on the platform. But my core team, especially my kids [Athiya and Ahan] encouraged me saying, ‘papa because of your experiences with ajja [my father] and all that he has taught you, there is so much you can say to create an impact’.”
Having realised that his Instagram was disorganised and his Twitter account only used “to get a message out there or to compliment and thank people”, he decided to give LinkedIn a shot.