Suniel Shetty confirms daughter Athiya’s exit from Bollywood: ‘Baba, I don’t want to...’

Suniel Shetty has announced that his daughter, Athiya Shetty, has stepped away from Bollywood after making her debut over a decade ago. The actor confirmed in a recent interview, that Athiya was not interested to continue in the field and opted to drop out to direct her focus on a more personal aspect of her life.

In an interview with Zoom, Suniel said that Athiya did get offers to take part in other projects after her last film in 2019, but she turned them down. The 63-year-old recalled a conversation with his daughter: "She said, 'Baba, I don't want to,' and she just left. And that's what I salute her for saying, 'I'm not interested. I don't want to do films.' After Motichoor Chaknachoor, a lot came her way. 'But I don't want to. I am comfortable, you know?'"

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So, what led to the actress’ exit from the industry? In 2023, she tied the knot with Indian cricketer KL Rahul and the couple welcomed their first child, a baby girl, on March 24, 2025. Suniel cited motherhood as the recent for her departure. "Today, she's got the best role of her life. You know, she's working in the best film, and that is the life, the role of a mother and she's loving it."

Athiya made her debut in Bollywood in Nikkhil Advani’s 2015 romantic-action flick Hero, starring alongside Sooraj Pancholi. She was later grouped alongside Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor in the 2017 rom-com Mubarakan. Her final role came in the dramedy Motichoor Chaknachoor, with Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

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