‘Why would I want people to know what I’m doing inside my house?’

Whether it’s through social media or otherwise, Randeep Hooda doesn’t really let anyone enter his personal space. And the actor is following the same mantra during the lockdown, too. Isolating in his Mumbai apartment with his puppy, he is missing “photography, my horses and working on set”. However, he’s glad to have a lot of spare time. “I’m doing voice exercises on the harmonium, imagination exercises, contemplating staging a production, reading scripts, books, poetry, catching up on shows,” Hooda, 43, tells us. Mention how most celebs are going all out on social media giving glimpses of their daily routine, Hooda takes a sigh of relief having kept that temptation away. “Why would I want people to know what I’m doing inside my house? I have no interest in that... I have no interest in watching other people do that either,” he says. Hoods explains for many, it’s the “need to reach out to people” to feel connected that leads to the social media overload. “People think, ‘So many people interacted with my thoughts or what I’ve posted’. It has got good and bad [sides]. I prefer to look at the good, ignore the other,” he says, quoting ‘to each their own’ philosophy.

Not many know that besides contributing for PM-Cares, Hooda, a wildlife enthusiast, has also done his bit for Matheran horses, besides running a #FriendInNeed pilot campaign for Tadoba Tiger Reserve (in Maharashtra). “There are a lot of people — guides, drivers, hotel staff — whose livelihoods depend on the forest. With my friend Sarosh Lodhi, we did a project through CLAW (Conservation Lenses & Wildlife), where we paid the field director of the park for 400 families in need,” shares Hooda, adding that it was kept completely non photoop, “because I’ve seen some terrible photos of one person receiving things from 13 people. We didn’t want that.”

I post when it’s about my work, my experiences, but not what I’m doing, eating or how I’m working out. RANDEEP HOODA ACTOR