Suniel Shetty questions why films talk about Auragzeb, Akbar but not Shivaji Maharaj, Rajputs: 'Our history textbooks...'

Suniel Shetty featured in the 2025 film 'Kesari Veer', which explored the repeated destruction of Gujarat’s Somnath Temple. However, despite its subject matter, the film failed to make an impact at the box office and was taken out of theatres soon after its release. In a recent interaction, the actor opened up about why the film did not perform commercially and also shared his thoughts on the kind of historical figures Hindi cinema continues to focus on.In a podcast with Lehren Retro, Suniel Shetty revealed that extensive research went into understanding the history of the Somnath Temple before the film was made. However, he believes the lack of proper distribution proved to be its biggest drawback. “We did a lot of research before making the film, but unfortunately, the distribution of the film was not done properly. Distribution is a big game, we didn’t get theatres., Producer lost a lot of money because he was distributing it himself with people and that didn’t work. A good film went down the drain,” he said. When asked about his emotional connection to the subject, Suniel questioned the repeated focus on certain historical figures in films. “Why do we talk about Aurangzeb, Akbar, Babur, Birbal? Our history should be about our culture. It should be about Vedas and the Rajputs and Shivaji Maharaj and everybody else, every hero of every state should be spoken about,” he remarked. He further added, “I feel strongly and emotional about Somnath temple. How many times it was plundered but it is still standing.”Suniel’s comments echo similar sentiments previously expressed by actor Akshay Kumar while promoting Prithviraj Chauhan. Akshay had pointed out gaps in how Indian history is taught, saying, “Unfortunately, our history textbooks only have 2-3 lines about Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan, but a lot has been mentioned about the invaders. There is hardly anything mentioned about our culture and our Maharajas. I was taken aback that there is so much about Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan that we don’t know about.”Meanwhile, in the same interview, Suniel also spoke about 'Dhurandhar' and how he loved the film. He revealed that he was supposed to be a part of Aditya Dhar's 'Ashwatthama' which was shelved later. Thus, after watching 'Dhurandhar', he expressed to Dhar that he wished he was a part of 'Dhurandhar'. On the work front, Suniel Shetty was recently seen in a cameo appearance in Border 2, which stars his son Ahan Shetty alongside Sunny Deol, who was also part of the 1997 original, along with Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Dhawan in lead roles. He also has the multi-starrer 'Welcome to the Jungle' lined up and will be seen in 'Hera Pheri 3' as well.