Actor Suniel Shetty, who serves as host and mentor super founders of indiaReflects on the role of his community and family in an exclusive conversation with India Today. Recalling his early days in the film industry, Shetty said that he never felt the lack of guidance as he had the support of his community right from the beginning.

Talking about the same, he said, “You know, somewhere, I think my community supported me. I come from a small South Indian family, and I knew that the first tickets I sold were bought by the restaurant boys who worked in those Udupi restaurants. They believed that, ‘Wow, we are seeing someone from here becoming an actor, and we want to support it.'”

Shetty said he learned by observing Like the actors he admired, progress would have been impossible without the collective support of those around him, especially his family. “Somewhere, everyone, the actors I believed in, the heroes I looked up to and learned from. But without support, without community support, without family support, nothing happens. My father believed in me. Coming from a South Indian family, for him to say, ‘You have one life to live, give it your best effort,’ meant everything.”

The actor also acknowledged the personal cost of long-term success. “My children have also made sacrifices. Also, the consistency in what I have done and the discipline I believe in are also sacrifices made by me.”

Drawing a clear connection between his experiences and the journey of the entrepreneurs featured on the show, Shetty said that similar patterns of trust and risk-taking are evident in India’s startup ecosystem.

“When I look at founders today, I see the same thing. I see investors sacrificing their time and their money, looking at these little kids and believing they can make a difference,” heartbeat actor Said.

Addressing the notion that today’s generation lacks the hunger seen in earlier times, the actor dismissed the notion and argued that ambition has simply evolved.

“And when you ask if I see the same hunger in today’s generation, of course I do. It’s just different. They’ve been brought up differently. They see things differently. They have great ideas and very clear ideas on how they want to make their money.”

He further added, “That’s why a platform like this works, where you have the experience of someone like Vellumani sir (one of the tycoons of the show), who does business the same way I and my father did, and then the young people, who think like my kids and want to do business their own way. It’s similar to that.”

Bharat Ke Super Founder releases today on Amazon MX Player. The show is hosted and helmed by Suniel Shetty, which brings together a panel of business tycoons to support India’s entrepreneurs.