Actor Suniel Shetty revealed in a recent podcast how he once abused gangster Hemant Pujari for threatening to kill his father to scare him, and subsequently the entire Shetty community, to extort money from them. “I told him that I knew more about him than he knew about me…and that I had more money and connections,” he said.
Bollywood’s tryst with Mumbai’s underworld in the 90s in not a hidden fact anymore. Recalling his own experience from the time, actor Suniel Shetty revealed how he had once abused gangster Hemant Pujari for threatening him using his father’s name. The actor also stated that he threatened him back saying he had more money and connections than the gangster.
Recalling the turbulent times in the 90s, Suniel said on The Lallantop podcast, “Shettys were a bit aggressive in Mumbai at that time as they were a suppressed lot. So there were constant tensions between the Shettys and the underworld. Since I am a Shetty as well, gangsters would think that the Shetty community would give them money and bow down if they threaten or harm me.”
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He went on to share, “Hemant Pujari would constantly call me. He and his men would call me on my personal number, my office, my manager, everywhere. He used to think that if he managed to scare me then the other Shettys would automatically be scared and pay them extortion money.”
Suniel revealed, “Once, he called me and said that he’ll shoot my father and kill him when he goes for his morning walk. I couldn’t tolerate it anymore and abused him, shutting him up. I told him that I knew more about him than he knew about me. And that I also had more money and connections than him, so he should not mess with me.”
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“The whole thing was recorded and I approached the cops later. They then advised that I must not lose my cool at such gangsters and get all abusive, because they won’t think twice before pulling the trigger,” he added.
The actor added that such calls and threats from the underworld to celebs was quite common in those days, but he never feared them.
