“I ASSERT THAT I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS AT ALL”

In this telephonic interview, SONU SOOD tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that he is aware of the fact only the quality of his work will speak for himself and help him to survive as an actor and hence he picks up only the roles that excite him as an actor.

Right from the Tamil film Kallazhagar, which was released way back in 1999, with which actor Sonu Sood had made his debut as a villain, he has just not turned back but taken one stride after the other, winning accolades all the way. Kallazhagar was followed with yet another blockbuster called Majnu in Tamil which made him an acceptable name in Tamil films in a big way albeit in roles of the antagonist.

Not many are aware of the fact that the 47 year old Sonu Sood, who had pursued his studies to become an electronic engineer, had actually started his career as a distributor of films, even while he was studying and it was the South Indian super star Vijayakant who had spotted him and his potential after he chanced to come across a photograph of his and invited him to Chennai to try his, luck as an actor in films. “My journey as an actor began from that day onwards and I owe my career to Vijayakant”, confesses Sonu Sood humbly on the telephone.

Sonu Sood sets out to name films like Arundhati (Telugu), Kallazhagar (Tamil) July and Kandanga (both Telugu) and Vishnuvardhan (Kannada) as his five best films as an actor till date. Sonu desired to play the role of the hero since he has a good physique and is handsome but unfortunately for him, the films in which he had played the leading man did not click at all in Hindi and he was back to Square One as the antagonist in films.

It did not take him a long time to bag an offer to play the protagonist in a Hindi film called Shaheed E Azam in Bollywood in 2002. Shaheed E Azam which showcased his talent was his debut film in Bollywood. The film in which Sonu had played the role of Shaheed Bhagat Singh took him places as an actor and paved the way for Sonu to entrench himself in Bollywood. Sonu admits that the producers felt that he suited the role of the freedom fighter to the T and cast him in the film, especially because he looked exactly like Bhagat Singh.

Sonu confesses frankly. “I had also banked a lot on Rajshri’s Ek Aur Vivaah to establish my career as a leading man in Hindi films but though my performance in the film was appreciated, the film did not end up as a box office hit. I did not give up hope and continued with my own struggle to bag the right films. I agree I was extremely choosy as an actor and did not take up each and every offer that was dangled in front of me because I knew that the quality of my work alone will speak for myself and also help me to survive in this career as an actor. I only pick up even today only the roles that are extremely exciting for me, not otherwise.”

Which are the five films of his which are his personal favorites? I ask Sonu and he excitedly rattles off names of films like Dabangg, Simmba, Yuva, Ashiq Banaya Aapne and last but not the least Shaheed- E -Azam.

Among the filmmakers who are in Sonu Sood’s wish list are Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rajkumar Hirani and Karan Johar. Sonu asserts that he would be the happiest as an actor if he were to be a part and parcel of the films made by these gems of filmmakers.

Sonu says that getting an opportunity to share the screen frame with Action star Jackie Chan and rubbing shoulders with him in the acclaimed film Kung Fu Yoga with Indian actors like Disha Patani and Amyra Dastur has been a great experience that he will always cherish in his career as an actor till date.

How did he bag Jackie Chan’s film? I ask Sonu. Sonu states with excitement, “Jackie Chan saw my work in the film City of Life directed by Ali. F. Mostafa, was impressed and asked me to come to China as his guest and offered me the role in his film Kung Fu Yoga. The rest is history. Not many are aware of the fact that almost eleven years ago, I was lucky enough to have bagged a role in the film City of Life in which I played an interesting role of Basu Patel. The film was set in the United Arab Emirates, and set out to revolve around three parallel lives, amongst many cultures in one city, namely, Dubai.”

Sonu Sood had acted alongside British actress Natalie Dormer and UAE's Saoud Al Kaabi in the film City of Life. Sonu adds that City of Life depicted the parallel worlds that exist simultaneously in the city of Dubai, in an interwoven story of a rich Emirati male, a disillusioned Indian taxi driver Basu Patel who resembles a Bollywood actor, and a European woman, whose lives cross paths only to discover that they have indefinitely made an impact on each other.

Sonu Sood dearly misses his parents who he says are responsible for having made every dream of his come true and rues the fact that they are not alive today to see him having taken rapid strides not only as an actor but also as a restaurant owner and film producer. “If I continue to stay humble and rooted to my ground, the reason is my parents who saw to it that I had a good upbringing and humility is an inborn trait in me as a kid.”

Though people started speculating whether Sonu had a hidden agenda when he set out to help migrants in Mumbai, Sonu asserts that he has absolutely nothing to do with politics. “I am doing this purely out of my love for migrants. I want to help reunite them with their families," As per an official estimate, the actor has helped over 40,000 migrant workers by feeding them during the pandemic and extending all kinds of help to them to reach their homes in states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand. Sonu Sood says that he wants to work till the last migrant reaches his home. “The journey has to continue in full force. No one should be rendered homeless. I am keen that they reach home safely,” says the humble actor, who hails from Punjab’s Moga.

I ask Sonu to evaluate his growth as an actor from the time that he had made his debut with the Tamil film Kallazhagar till now and he is quick to reply that he feels that he is still growing slowly and steadily as an actor learning all the tricks as well as the traits of the trade step by step and learning from the failure.

Sonu Sood who has a very good physique, is of the opinion that we should concentrate more on fitness especially during the current lockdown and feels that the new generation should be more aware of how to keep fit with regular exercises and proper diet.

Sonu says that he is right now excited about doing a project as a producer a film on the badminton star P.V. Sidhu, since he himself is an avid badminton player and had played badminton regularly when he was in college. Sonu is also quite excited about being part of the film Prithviraj in which he is essaying a very positive role. “I had earlier worked with Akshay in films like Singh Is Kinng, That’s Entertainment and ‘Gabbar Is Back’ in the past. Though  I am not allowed to divulge anything more about my role in  the film Prihviraj, directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, all that I can say is that I am playing a prominent role”.

Sonu signs off, “Prithviraj is a historical drama that traces the life of King Prithviraj Chauhan. Manushi Chhillar makes her debut as Rani Samyukta with the film. I feel Dr. Chandrapraksh Dwivedi and producer Aditya Chopra are masters of their craft, and they will make sure that this film will be one of the biggest films of the year.” Besides acting in Prithviraj, and producing the biopic on P.V. Sidhu, after the lockdown is lifted and things are back to normalcy, Sonu is also acting in the Kannada film Kandanga 2 and the Telugu film Acharya with super star Chiranjeevi.