The importance of being Sudhakar Shetty

Sudhakar Shetty, the owner of the now infamous Deepa Bar, is a low-profile guy. But he is good at public relations — he is soft-spoken and no one has ever heard of his high-handedness. As long as he was partner with Humayun Chandiwalla, he had been the public face of the bar till they reportedly parted ways. It is believed that Shetty’s excellent liasioning skills pushed Chandiwalla up in his bar business.

The latter even went on to open a restaurant called Pride and a conference hall called Prime — all in same building at Irla. Chandiwalla, who had police cases against him (his Andheri social club was raided and locked by the present Joint Commissioner of Police, law and order, and the then DCP of the area).

In the last two years Shetty has gone heavily into construction. Kennilworth shopping mall at Linking Road opposite and one of the largest Slum Rehabilitation Autority(SRA) project at Worli etc are considered to be his prestigious works. Though some political leaders names have come up as investors in his projects Shetty’s own enterprising skillis are known to his close friends.

Shetty’s friendship with producer Nitin Manmohan and actor Sanjay Dutt seems not very old as Shetty is seen with Manmohan at recent film premier parties like Manmohan’s Dil Maange More (starring Sahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor).

Asked if Manmohan and Dutt will be called for questioning Police Commissioner Roy replied, “I would not know really.”