Suniel Shetty has had enough problems with his ambitious venture, the water theme park H2O at Marine Drive. It ran into trouble with government authorities few times, even prompting him to think of shutting it down. However, now Suniel has a change of mind and is ready to expand H2O.
He said, “Every day fresh issues used to creep up. I had given up hope completely and even mulled over closing H2O. But then I realised that I provide employment to around 300-400 fishermen, who are certified life-savers. My team saved 37 lives last year and it promotes tourism in a big way.”
Recently, Suniel successfully hosted the international Jet Ski race at the venue. He added, “I’m looking to host another international championship of Jet Ski race in January and post that I’m looking to open up another branch of H2O in Juhu. I am applying for the required permissions. It is a venture very close to my heart and I don’t want to give it up just because I am having problems. I’ll deal with them.”
Moving on to his movie career, Suniel has teamed up with his Hera Pheri gang of Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and director Priyadarshan after nine years for a forthcoming film. We asked him to reveal one trait of Akshay and Paresh that he adores and one that drives him up the wall.
“I love Akshay’s energy. But he irritates me a lot too. He is a nightmare on the sets. I am an actor who takes time to get my lines and the grammar right. Finally, when I get it right, Akshay does some nautanki and makes me forget them. Also, he steals other’s mobiles and messages random people from those cell phones. So, now we keep all our belongings to ourselves,” he said.
About Paresh, Suniel said, “I don’t have words to describe how good an actor he is. He is brilliant. He’s not the kind who would visit a slum before doing a slum-dweller’s role. He’ll do it effortlessly. I’m very jealous about the fact that when you see him act, you forget your cue because he is so good at his job.”
