The ’90s may not have been the most fashionable decade but it definitely was an era that brought forward stylish men and women in Bollywood. While new entrants like Urmila, Karisma Kapoor and Kajol were setting major fashion goals amongst the women, there were Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan who had everyone drooling over their chocolate-hero looks. Amidst all this, there were also a number of chiseled men, knocking hard on the Bollywood’s door, who brought action films back into business! One such name was Suniel Shetty.
Buffed muscles, unconventional looks and a testosterone-fueled approach to films, Suniel was a prominent figure in the action films of that decade. Whether it was his blue denim or his oversized colourful shirts, it became quite the trend back in the day.
Now, to find out if Suniel still believes in the same fashion statements he once pulled,  we caught up with the star in Dubai recently where he was present to support his wife Mana Shetty’s fashion exhibition titled ‘Araaish’…
Over time, the line between a metrosexual and a macho man has blurred. Do you feel the same?
Suniel Shetty: All my life I have only believed and worn what suits me. Now I don’t know if my choices put me into the metrosexual category or make me a macho. I genuinely believe that a man should be well dressed and should always be hygienically clean. Having said that, a clean chest is not a symbol for either machoism or metrosexuality!
Don’t you think that today all the male leads look interchangeable? As they all have abs, they all dance well, they all wear the same clothes. What is the differentiator here?
SS: That is why I always say style is important and what you said is bang on! Don’t go too far but there is a reason why a Jackie Shroff still stands out as a Jackie Shroff or a Rekha still stands out as a Rekha. Also, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar have stayed true to their styles but sadly the kids of today are very, very typical. Ironically fashion dictates them and they don’t dictate fashion.
Suniel Shetty was recently in Dubai to support his wife’s exhibition.
What do you think of the celebrity-stylist relationship?
SS: There are very few designers and stylists who sit and chalk-out a look and have a discussion and understand what you can carry or what will help you in creating a style of your own. Only a Manish Malhotra and the likes of Vikram Phadnis – who sit with you, and put the fabric together, put the design together – create a look. I don’t honestly encourage the concept of a stylist handling your look. The bunch of stylists working today are merely collectors of clothes who distribute looks from one event to another. That is why all stars today look the same at any party you go.
Finally, to our readers of Something Haute could you please share the secret of your fitness?
SS: It’s nothing out of this world. I just follow a discipline. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning and do my yoga for an hour. My yoga week is divided into Pranayamas (breathing) and Asanas (postures). I follow the world-renowned rule of breakfast ‘like a king and lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper’. No carbs for me after 5 pm. Also, avoid supplements and steroids!
– Sadiq Saleem is a Dubai based entertainment journalist. He is also an Instep & Something Haute correspondent and can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
