Sunil Shetty born on 11 August 1961 in Mulki, Mangalore taluk, Karnataka to a Tulu speaking Bunt family, he changed his name spelling to Suniel Shetty for Numerological reasons. He also owns some hotels specializing in Udupi cuisine (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and a clothing boutique named Mischief and has launched a company called Popcorn Entertainment to promote Bollywood actors touring abroad for stage shows and/or concerts.

He is married to Mana Shetty and has two children called Ahan and Athiya. He is often called as the He-Man of the Indian Bollywood industry. He is a Black Belt in Kick Boxing.

Career

Shetty made his acting debut in the 1992 film Balwaan which was a moderate success. He gave two hit film in 1993 Anth and Waqt Hamara Hai. His first major blockbuster hit was the 1994 action thriller Mohra. Later that year he also had another hit with the romantic drama film Dilwaleand the comedy film Gopi Kishan. He went on to star in many films throughout the 1990s mostly in the action genre. In 1997, his film Bhai released on Diwali was a success despite coinciding with Shahrukh Khans Dil To Pagal Hai. In 1997. he got recognition for his role in the war epicBorder. He went on to play patriotic roles in films such as Refugee (2001), Qayamat: City Under Threat (2003) and LOC: Kargil (2003). He also ventured into comedy roles in hit films such asHera Pheri (2000), Awara Paagal Deewana (2002), Phir Hera Pheri (2006), Main Hoon Na and De Dana Dan (2009). He won a Filmfare Award for Best Villain in 2001 for his performance inDhadkan (2000). He also won SAIFF (South Asia International Film Festival) 2009 as a Best Actor for the film Red Alert: The War Within.

As a producer, he set up a production company called Popcorn Motion Pictures Ltd, which produced the films Khel (2003), Rakht: What If You Can See the Future and Bhagam Bhag(2006). In recent years he has mostly played small roles in multi-starred films. BesidesBollywood he appeared in the English film Don't Stop Dreaming in 2007 and the Tamil film 12B. He also hosted Biggest Loser Jeetega on Sahara One.