Suniel Shetty denies being in talks for Dharma Productions’ Fighter

By: Mohnish Singh

Rumours were doing the rounds lately that popular action star Suniel Shetty was in talks to play the role of southern superstar Vijay Deverakonda’s father in the much-awaited film Fighter. However, the actor has denied the news.

Talking to a publication, Shetty said that he has not even been approached for the said part in the said project. “No, I have not even been approached for this part. Where did this come from?” questioned the actor.

Fighter, which went on floors in January, has Vijay Deverakonda as the male lead, while Bollywood actress Ananya Panday plays his love interest. Such talented actors as Ramya Krishnan, Ronit Roy, Vishu Reddy, Aali, and Getup Srinu round off the cast. Buzz had it that Suniel Shetty would also play an important character in the action entertainer. However, the actor’s denial has put all speculations to an end.

Earlier, when Deverakonda was asked about the involvement of Shetty in the project, he had denied having any information about the casting. He told a publication, “I am not at all sure of this. I have not been informed.”

Fighter is a multilingual pan-India project which is being made in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and several other popular south Indian languages. Well-known filmmaker Puri Jagannadh is directing and co-producing the film. Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta of Dharma Productions have joined the project as production partners.

The movie features a lot of mixed martial arts along with high-octane action sequences. Deverakonda underwent rigorous training and flew to Thailand to learn mixed martial arts and other fight forms to glide into the skin of his character in the movie.

Suniel Shetty, meanwhile, is waiting for the release of his next Bollywood film Mumbai Saga. Directed by Sanjay Gupta, the gangster-drama also features John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Kajal Aggarwal, and Jackie Shroff in significant roles.