HOW SONU ALMOST LOST HIS FIRST BREAK

Actor Sonu Sood shares details of his struggling days in Delhi and the anxiety of auditions

Actor Sonu Sood might be having the time of his life with a film like Simmba, alongside Ranveer Singh, in hand, but not many know that it took him a lot of time to emerge victorious from his struggling days.

“I remember, I had a pager during the time that I was struggling. Those days, I used to be in Delhi, and I would be there in the Palika Bazar garden, waiting for my pager to beep, because that would signal an audition has come,” recalls Sonu, who is from Moga, Punjab, and came to Delhi to fulfil his dreams.

The actor shares that since there were so many people wanting to get into the same career (acting), things weren’t easy to get through.

“There were two-three places where you could go and give auditions, and so many people would be there. I remember my first assignment. I had bagged a photoshoot, and the night before, I got conjunctivitis. I said ‘This is not good. I have to carve out my career, and have got this in the beginning itself’. I thought the photographer would throw me out. When he saw me, he said ‘Man, this is bad’. But he was smart; he cheated on angles. After this, I said ‘Boss, no matter what, I have to make it’,” reveals Sonu, who made his Hindi film debut in 2002 with Shaheed-EAzam. He went on to do projects such as Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Dabangg (2010), and Happy New Year (2014).

Sonu is also a producer, and his planned biopic on badminton ace PV Sindhu has been making quite the buzz. What’s the update on that? “We are working on the 24th draft, and have finally locked the script. After we decided to make the film, PV Sindhu had just won a medal. Then she had newer achievements, which we needed to incorporate. We are now giving the final touches. We want to do full justice to our hero,” he says.

I remember my first assignment. I had bagged a photoshoot, and the prior night, I got conjunctivitis.

SONU SOOD ACTOR

PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT Sonu Sood has planned a biopic on badminton ace PV Sindhu