Sonu Sood says that this part of his life is his “second innings.” After wanting to play good roles on screen for a long time, the actor thinks he is finally getting the right offers. Strangely, though, his career changed because of a change in how he sees life. Now, being in movies is no longer important to him. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Sonu became known as a Good Samaritan because he helped people get home and helped people who had lost their jobs. He is now giving back to the community more than he ever did as an actor. This gives him a sense of satisfaction and fulfilment that he never had as an actor.
In a recent interview, the actor talked about what success means to him now, why he has been making more south Indian movies, and his new motto, “ab mujhko fark nahi padta,” which means “now I don’t care what other people think.”
Can we say that this is a high point in your life because you are more popular than ever?
This is my favourite part. I don’t know if it’s a high or not, but I feel very lucky right now. I always thought that making movies and being in a Rs 100-200 crore film was what we call success, but connecting with regular people and helping those in need has been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. So, I’ve never done this before, and I’m enjoying it the most.
Do people no longer play bad roles? Since you became a philanthropist, have things changed?
When I moved to Mumbai, I only wanted to play important, good roles. But if you don’t come from a film background, you’re given bad parts. You’re like, ‘mereko negative roles kyun offer kar raha hai?’. So, I would sometimes get a little angry. But then you realise you’re an actor and you have to entertain, whether you’re playing a good or bad role. It has also happened that people love you more than a movie hero.
You also realise that you still don’t know everything about yourself. And with the roles I’m getting now, the ones filmmakers are giving me, I want to give this time of my life to these roles and find out more about myself. I am getting scripts that are very interesting. People don’t like it when you do well in this business.
Since then (after his work during the Covid-19 pandemic), I’ve only been offered positive roles, which is nice. I worked on a movie where they had to make a lot of changes to the script and reshoot a lot of scenes. They would say, “Make it public!” so we have to do it. I had to be pulled by my collar by an actor, but he said, “I won’t do it, because people will hate me for doing that to you!” Before, directors weren’t sure if people would even like me in good roles after I had played so many bad ones. Also, that was just a phase. It’s a fresh start for me.
I think that being connected to people and their families is the key to success. At first, I was worried about getting work in movies and whether or not my movies would do well. Will actors definitely want to work with me or not? But what I think has changed a lot because of what I’ve been through in the last few years. I’m no longer worried about things. If you want to work with me or not, if some actors feel uncomfortable around me or not, if people give me work or not, it doesn’t bother me anymore. I’m in my favourite place, where I feel at ease and enjoy every moment. Still, 200–300 people come to meet me when I leave my house, and I love spending time with them.
When you said that how people in the business treat you doesn’t matter to you, you meant it. Didn’t working on Manikarnika make you feel anything?
I’ve never bad-mouthed Manikarnika. I’ve never spoken against anyone. Mujhe laga ki woh duniya thik nahi hai (it didn’t feel right), so I walked out. I never said anything about that. There is a world where people talk openly about their good and bad experiences. But when it comes to me, I keep quiet, main shaant ho jaataa hoon (I go quiet). The way Manikarnika was shot was great, but when it didn’t go anywhere else, I quit. I knew I had to get off the train. Not that I haven’t dealt with these problems or won’t in the future, but you shouldn’t let them bother you. But we must keep moving… why spend time on the bad things?
It’s about staying alive. If you don’t get a shot, you won’t make it. The sad part is that most people in the industry don’t want you to succeed, even if they don’t know you. People don’t want you to be successful, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
People don’t want to see other people succeed, whether they know them or not. I think this is true in every field. Woh kamyaab kaise ho gaya? Yeh sab duniya ka dastoor hai! (People question your success). And it is a sad part. I’ve always thought that how long you can stay alive, how long you can hold your breath in the water, is how successful you are.
We wish you had done more Hindi movies in the past few years, but you did more Telugu and Tamil movies, with Aacharya being your last. Why?
I have always been picky about the scripts I choose for my movies, whether they are in Tamil, Telugu, or Hindi. South helps me avoid making bad Hindi movies. If you don’t, you might start to feel like you’re just making a movie to be in a big one. South stops me from doing that, so I don’t have to.
I, on the other hand, work on both South Indian and Hindi films. I remember that I used to do a lot of south Indian films instead of Hindi films. People had doubts about that. But what matters is what you learn from it. It’s about how much fun you’re having at work and how much experience you’re getting. Mujhe fark nahi padta bhasha kya hai? I’m not affected by language. People need to be entertained. You can be the biggest star and most successful, but if you take people for granted and still think they’ll pay their own money to see your movie, you’re wrong (that time has passed). It has always been this way, and not just in Hindi films. If a South Indian film isn’t good, it doesn’t do well either. People now have more things to choose from. If they don’t like this movie, they can watch another, better one.