In a way, Shetty has given the internet a bit of a treat with this grandpa story. The 15-month-old is said to start her day with a little offering to a photo of Narendra Modi, and you can tell by the reactions online that it has everyone from chortling to having a good-natured row over it.
The tiny devotee and her morning routine
Shetty will be the first to tell you it’s not a family tradition. It all went down at an airport when a nanny made a point of showing Evaarah the PM’s face and she latched on to it. Now, you’ll find her with a Sai Baba book in the a.m., one with a Modi in it, and you’ll hear her put in, ‘Modi ji’. And there’s a cuteness to it that hard to put into words. The toddler will make her way to the Ganpati at home, get a laddoo and ‘give’ it to the photo. Shetty is quick to say no one put up to her; he calls the connection between them ‘magical’.
A ritual born at an airport
He tells it with a wry sort of pride. A run-in at the terminal was enough to put in place what has become a daily thing. He makes a point of saying he or the parents didn’t have to nudge her along. She just goes back to the picture, day in and day out.
What Shetty really meant about Modi
You could also see it as a way of getting across his well-known fondness for the PM. But for him, it’s about the man, not the party. ‘If a leader excites me, he excites me. As much as I love my country, I love my man,’ is how he puts it.
There is ‘something about him,’ Shetty says, and he’s been under that spell since a get-together in Ahmedabad back in 2010. If anything, his granddaughter’s way of showing it just confirms the pull he feels. To sum up what he made of in the interview: – It’s for the leader, not the party – The kid does it on her own – He’d put it down to a ‘magical’ appeal
Family milestones and a quiet approach to fame
His daughter Athiya and K.L. Rahul tied the knot in January 2023 and had their girl in March 2025. They’ve let on that ‘Evaarah’ is for 'Gift of God‘, but they are keeping her out of the spotlight for the most part, only giving you a peek here and there. For Shetty, it’s a source of some pride. He’s even dubbed her ‘Athiya 2.0’ for the resemblance and the happiness she is in the house for.
On the work front: box office and delays
When he’s not in doting mode, you can catch him in Welcome to the Jungle, out since 26 June. The word on the street is a bit of a mix. Some in the industry are putting the India net at Rs 15 crore (Rs 29 in total), others have you at 18 in the country. It’s an Ahmed Khan film with a full roster – Akshay Kumar, Rajpal Yadav, Paresh Rawal, Arshad Warsi, Raveena Tandon, Disha Patani, Jacqueline Fernandez. And it had to make its mark alongside Supergirl over the weekend.
Hera Pheri 3 remains in limbo
Then there is the matter of Hera Pheri 3 with Priyadarshan at the helm and the usual suspects like Akshay and Paresh. Legal hiccups have put the shoot on hold, so the fans are still waiting in the wings.
Why this little story lands big
It is the kind of unvarnished detail that Indian households like to put around. It has a bit of politics, a bit of faith, and it’s very home. No wonder Shetty’s version of it has made its rounds so fast. Part of the appeal is who is telling it. An actor has been a fan of Modi for a while, but a two-year-old with a laddoo in hand? You can’t put that on. It’s right out of life as it is.
With a box office to tend to and a sequel in the offing, these home videos are a nice touch. We can count on more of them, even if the family is careful with what they put out there.
