Shatrughan Sinha recalls being ’embarrassed’ about his looks: ‘Plastic surgeon se baat kar lee thi humne’

Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, who is also an All India Trinamool Congress leader and member of Parliament, graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. He made his acting debut with Sajan in 1969. Since then, he has acted in films such as Gulzar’s Mere Apne in 1971 and Dulal Guha’s Dost in 1974. He acted with Amitabh Bachchan in films such as Raaste Kaa Patthar (1972), Shaan (1980) and Kaala Patthar (1979), among others. In the promo of his upcoming interview, Shatrughan recalled being insecure about how he looked during his early years.

Shatrughan Sinha told Arbaaz Khan, “Bahut embarrassment hota tha mujhko, lagta tha ki apni kati-phati shakal le kar aa raha hoon main filmo mein, kaise apni jagah banaonga, kya kaise karunga. Plastic surgeon se bhi baat kar lee thi humne (I used to feel very embarrassed, I used to think I am entering Bollywood with a face that was not perfect. I worried how will I make it in films with my face, what will I do about it? I was so worried that I had even spoken to a plastic surgeon).”

In an interview, earlier this month, Shatrughan had revealed that iconic films Deewaar (1975) and Sholay (1975) were originally offered to him, but he had to turn them down. Amitabh ended up getting the roles, eventually. Speaking with Aaj Tak, the veteran actor had said, “I have had films which I have regretted. Like Deewaar. I regretted that I couldn’t do the film. Deewaar was written for me. They had brought it to me. The script was with me for around six months. But we had some creative differences and I returned the script back. Similarly, with Sholay, I was supposed to do it. The role that my friend Amitabh Bachchan did. They wanted me to do it. Some people wanted to do the role of Gabbar Singh…”