Sunil Shetty is an action star who once filled Bollywood. In his youth, the actor worked in his father’s restaurants. Like many others from Mumbai’s Bund community, Sunil Shetty’s family ran a restaurant business. The note shared by Sunil Shetty about that time is now gaining attention.
‘I owe my growth to the work ethic and survival skills I acquired while working in my father’s restaurants at a young age. Like many others from Mumbai’s Bund community, we also ran a few ‘Udupi’ restaurants,” noted Sunil Shetty.
My father came to Mumbai with nothing when he was young. My father started working in an Udupi restaurant cleaning tables. He eventually bought the three restaurants where he worked. The only reason the hotel owner sold them all to my father was because he knew my father would be fair to each of them.
When my father started running his own hotels, he brought a group of boys from the village to help him. Along with work, their accommodation, food and other facilities were ensured. About 70 young people stayed in the accommodation provided in the premises of the restaurant, which became their home.
‘From trips to the wholesale markets at 5 o’clock every day, to preparing the kitchen before opening at 7 in the morning, I remember. Visit each table to ensure customer satisfaction. Properly stocking essentials, ensuring that no food is wasted, cleaning the kitchen during peak hours, cleaning tables…a total deep cleaning after closing the hotel, all are remembered.
Many restaurant owners, like my dad, gave employees convenient shifts and encouraged them to attend night school. The idea behind it was to equip the next generation and their families for a better tomorrow.
When the hotel cooks, cashiers or managers felt capable of starting their own hotel, my father helped them. That is how a large section of the community grew up and prospered. The foundation was genuine friendship and a sense of community.
Customer has always been important to them. They managed to serve a single person for a cup of tea with the same enthusiasm as they served a group of 8, which amazes me! I also have respect for restaurants – I know the work behind them.
My father was and will always be my mentor. The lessons he taught shaped my life’ – says Sunil Shetty in a long note.
Sunil Shetty is a person who took a break from films for his father when he was shining in his career. It was the period of 2014. Sunil Shetty’s father Veerappa Shetty suffered a stroke when he was running and doing five to six films a year. Half of Veerappa Shetty’s body went limp as the blood flow to his brain stopped. With that, Sunil Shetty finished the movie and stayed at home to take care of his father.
A room in the house was set up to resemble a hospital ICU. For three years, he stood with his father as a shadow. Sunil Shetty did not do a single film in 2015 and 2016. Veerappa Shetty passed away in 2017. The death of his father left Sunil Shetty mentally exhausted.
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