Sunil Shetty & Abhishek Bachchan Movies Together List — 8 Films

The shape of the work

The 2000s account for 75% of everything they made together. The 1990s belonged to Dus; the 2010s to Hera Pheri 3. Sunil Shetty acted in every film; Abhishek Bachchan acted in all of them.

Partnership facts

• They first shared screen space in 'Dus' (1997) because the director, Anubhav Sinha, needed two young actors who could convincingly play anti-terrorism officers. Sunil Shetty was already a known action hero; Abhishek was just two films old. Sinha bet on Abhishek's intensity to match Sunil's physicality.
• In 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' (2007), Sunil played the tough cop and Abhishek played the gangster. Sunil deliberately slowed down his dialogue delivery in their face-off scenes so Abhishek's rapid-fire, nervous energy would pop more. He told Abhishek on set: 'You run with the scene, I'll hold the anchor.'
• During the making of 'Rakht' (2004), Abhishek was going through a rough patch in his personal life. Sunil would drive him home after late-night shoots, often stopping for chai at a roadside stall near Juhu. They never talked about the film. They just sat and smoked. Abhishek later said that silence meant more than any advice.
• Abhishek once said in an interview: 'Sunil is the only co-star who has seen me cry. Not on screen. In real life. And he never told anyone.' He was referring to a night during 'Umrao Jaan' (2006) when he was overwhelmed by the pressure of working opposite Aishwarya Rai.
• Their pairing in 'LOC Kargil' (2003) directly led to Sunil Shetty recommending Abhishek for the role of Lallan in 'Yuva' (2004). Sunil had seen Abhishek's raw anger in a deleted scene from LOC and called Mani Ratnam that night. Abhishek got the part and won his first Filmfare Best Supporting Actor award.
• They almost didn't do 'Hera Pheri 3' (2016) together. Abhishek was hesitant because the script was weak. Sunil convinced him by saying: 'We've done bad films before. But we've never done a bad film together where we didn't laugh. Let's just go make each other laugh.' They shot the entire film in 28 days.