Behind every successful action filmmaker lies a family legacy of breaking bones and shattering glass. For Rohit Shetty, the master of Bollywood blockbusters, action runs deeper than box office success - it's a family inheritance that predates modern safety equipment and digital effects.
The Fearless Stuntwoman: Ratna Shetty's Hidden Legacy
In a revealing throwback interview, director Rohit Shetty opened up about his mother Ratna Shetty's groundbreaking work as a stuntwoman during Bollywood's golden era. Ratna Shetty performed dangerous stunts for leading actresses like Hema Malini and Vyjayanthimala at a time when safety measures were virtually nonexistent.
"My mom was a stuntwoman. All the 'Seeta Aur Geeta' stunts you see, and Vyjayanthimala rolling from the staircase, it's her," Rohit recalled with evident pride. He specifically highlighted two iconic sequences that showcased his mother's fearlessness.
The director revealed that the dramatic fan sequence in 'Seeta Aur Geeta' and the top-angle bike shots in 'Andaz' song 'Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana' featuring Rajesh Khanna were actually performed by his mother. Her physique and athletic ability made her the perfect double for some of Bollywood's biggest female stars.
M.B. Shetty: The Action Innovator Behind Iconic Scenes
Rohit Shetty's father, M.B. Shetty, was equally instrumental in shaping Bollywood's action landscape. While known to audiences as a character actor, M.B. Shetty was actually a pioneering action director whose contributions went largely unrecognized in the pre-social media era.
"He was not just a character actor, but also an action director. There was no social media... people were unaware of that," Rohit explained. His father choreographed one of Indian cinema's most legendary action sequences - the intense godown fight scene in the classic film 'Deewaar' starring Amitabh Bachchan.
M.B. Shetty's innovation extended to creating what would become staple action tropes. He invented the dramatic 'glass break' technique where actors would crash through glass panes during fights. "He used to get a lot of cuts," Rohit remembered, painting a picture of the physical toll these innovations took.
Despite his tough on-screen persona, M.B. Shetty was described as "very soft-spoken, very humble and down to earth" by his son. His humble background and emotional nature stood in stark contrast to the violent sequences he orchestrated on screen.
From Family Business to Blockbuster King
Rohit Shetty summarized his unusual childhood by stating, "So, it's our family business. It's in our DNA - breaking bones... breaking our own bones rather than others'." This unique upbringing prepared him for his own journey in Bollywood.
The director began his career as an assistant director on Ajay Devgn's debut film 'Phool Aur Kaante' before making his directorial debut with 'Zameen' in 2003. His big break came with the Golmaal series in 2006, which established him as a commercial force to reckon with.
Currently, Shetty is shooting for the Rakesh Maria biopic with John Abraham and will soon begin preparations for Golmaal 5, expected to start filming by February or March 2026.
The legacy continues as Rohit Shetty transforms the dangerous, physical stunts his parents pioneered into the spectacular, larger-than-action sequences that define modern Bollywood cinema.
