Suniel Shetty once describes his experience with the Kaante team arriving in Los Angeles
Back in 2001, when the terrible terrorist attack happened at the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, Bollywood director Sanjay Gupta was in the United States, shooting his film Kaante. The movie had a big cast, including actor Suniel Shetty. Recently, in an interview, Suniel Shetty shared a terrifying experience he had in Los Angeles right after the 9/11 attacks. He revealed that he was held at gunpoint by the police just because of how he looked. The actor recalled that the police made him kneel down on the ground, handcuffed him, and he had no idea what was happening.
A Normal Evening Turned Into a Nightmare
Suniel Shetty on Chanda Kochhar’s YouTube channel describes his experience with the Kaante team arriving in Los Angeles before the 9/11 attacks, showing on television. He watched disturbing television coverage of the moment without understanding if what he saw happened. The whole nation experienced astonishment and national security heightened throughout the country. A short time after this incident, a surprising event took place with him. Shetty, while walking into his hotel, forgot his room key, he asked an American man in the elevator if he had one. A sudden look of doubt came from the man and he quickly left while causing commotion. Shetty found himself facing a situation, police officers rushed in with guns pointed at Shetty.
“Down or We Shoot!”
The actor recalled how the police shouted at him without asking him any questions. “Down or we shoot!” He was completely stunned and had no idea what was happening. He had to drop down to his knees in that moment of fear and confusion. The police then handcuffed him.
The situation started getting worse with all the chaos. But thankfully, members of the Kaante production team arrived and tried to explain that he was an actor. A hotel manager, who was a Pakistani man, also stepped in to vouch for him. He told the police that Shetty was a well-known Indian actor. Looking back at that scary moment, Shetty said that he had no idea what was going to happen next. There was too much panic everywhere, and because he had a beard then, people saw him suspiciously. He called the whole experience “insane.”
A Time of Fear and Uncertainty
During the time after 9/11, many South Asian and Middle Eastern people encountered discrimination because of how they appeared. Shetty’s experience proved how bad the situation was during that time in the nation. Shetty survived the frightening situation because people realized who he was, enabling them to intervene and rescue him. But this memory remains a shocking reminder of how the world changed after 9/11.
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