I thought I wouldn't get along with JP Dutta: Suniel Shetty says he almost rejected Border

Border, the 1997 war drama directed by JP Dutta, is one of the most iconic films of actor-businessman Suniel Shetty’s career. While Shetty will forever be remembered for his portrayal of Captain Bhairon Singh, did you know that he was about to refuse the role? Shetty, revealed in a recent LinkedIn post, that he was about to reject the iconic role in the iconic film.

Shetty said he somehow decided that he would not get along with JP Dutta based on the thinking of the people around him. “I almost didn’t do one of the most important movies of my career. Why? Because based on what others around me thought, I somehow decided that I wouldn’t get along with the film’s director,” Shetty said in his post.

He also said that at the time, deciding to decline the film felt like a logical thing to do because of his experience as an actor in the film industry.

“And at the time, it sounded like a reasonable conclusion to arrive at. By then, I’d spent a few years in the industry. Had met with some success & mass acceptance, learned a few lessons & was a decent judge of people,” the actor said.

People around him said that the filmmaker had a temper, was not easy to get along with and was headstrong about how he wanted things. “JP Dutta had a reputation of being hard to work with. Even though I didn’t know him myself, I’d heard from others that he had a temper, was not easy to get along with & was pretty headstrong about how he wanted things,” Shetty’s post read.

He added that he said no when JP Dutta first approached him for Border because he let other people’s opinions get to him. He, however, said that he could tell Dutta was onto something special when he heard the narration.

“So when he approached me for Border, at first, I said no. Why? Only because I’d let other people's biases make that decision for me. And funnily, this despite the fact that I could immediately tell from hearing the narration & seeing his vision, that he was onto something special,” Shetty noted.

Later in the post, the actor thanked well-wishers who got him to sit down with the director, prompting him to look at things more rationally. He was impressed by Dutta’s passion and focus, which led him to accept the role of Captain Bhairon Singh.

Border was a box office success, catapulting Shetty to the status of a star. “The rest is history. In Border, I found one of the most successful films of my career. More than the commercial success it earned, Border earned a special place in people’s hearts,” he said.

Shetty also said in the post that this episode taught him to not make decisions or form judgments about people, ideas or businesses based on what others say or think.