Sonu Sood: I connect more with common people than I do with celebrities – Exclusive! – Times of India
You have a new show called ‘It Happens Only In India’, where you are going to tell stories of common Indians, achieving uncommon feats, and having inspirational journeys. What attracted you to be part of such a show?
I always tell my kids that when we were young, our grandparents used to tell us stories like, ‘Ek tha Raja, ek thi Rani…’. We used to always imagine those stories in front of our eyes. We used to get transported into a totally different world. But today the world is totally different with social media madness and thousands of other things happening. I feel we’ve somehow lost that world where we can tell those old stories again. With ‘It Happens Only In India’, we are trying to take people back into that world, where we tell stories of the common man from the country, people whose story not many have heard about. These are heroes who have inspired many, who have done a lot for the world. They’ve achieved feats like planting hectares of forests, cutting through mountains, making satellites for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). These are inspiring stories that will inspire the newer generations of Indians and show them that the world is not just about their mobile phones. It will hopefully compel them to explore the hero within and reach out and have their own adventures and journeys.
The social media generation has different ideas for entertainment, educational, and information stories. They don’t really look at long-format shows to get that information…
How you tell these stories is also very important because the younger generations should learn to have the patience to revisit those stories and then take the effort to spread the word and tell their friends that they saw a beautiful story. ‘It Happens Only in India’ has that gloss and authenticity to attract its audience and make them take notice of the stories on offer. The show has got a real feel of the country. It shows us how you can change the world with just one idea. You can change society, you change lives and you can bring back smiles to people who’ve lost them.
What sort of stories did you grow up with?
I belong to Moga, the heartland of Punjab. It’s a place of large open fields and many years ago my great grandfather gave away his personal land to people to build schools and colleges without bothering about what would be left with him. Today, so many institutes, where so many children get their education in Moga, are built on lands that my family gave away. When I plan to open a new school and college, I realise what kind of effort goes into setting that up. It’s definitely not an easy task. When I visit those institutions in Moga, and the teachers and deans take me for a tour and say that my grandfather and my father helped build these places, I pause and wonder. I have the means and resources right now, but many years ago, my family didn’t, and yet what they managed to do makes my humanitarian efforts look inconsequential in comparison. Coming back to your question, the lessons and stories that I learned from my family are ‘nothing is impossible’ and ‘one must always have the zeal and patience to help others’.
You became quite the hero during the pandemic, when you helped lakhs of migrant Indians get back home during the lockdown. Have people approached you to tell that story in the film, too?
I have written a book about it. People have approached me to tell those stories on screen, too. But then I’ve been thinking that the process isn’t over yet. We’ve had a second wave and lockdown. Even now, every evening I go down to my society gate and meet 150-200 people on a daily basis, who come from all over the country to ask for help and I feel it’s my duty to try and find a solution for them. So this process I feel is going to continue. Compare this to what I came to Mumbai for and it feels like such a far cry. I had come to be part of films, to be part of Rs 100-crore hits and larger-than-life stories and here I am dedicating myself to something distinctly different. This new role that I have invented for myself, is the role that I always wanted to do. I truly believe that now.
There’s no need for lights, cameras, you only need action. And with every action I take, I have to make sure it’s a blockbuster and that it ends up saving a life. When you give someone hope, your responsibility is to see that through, and that makes you stronger. Honestly, I don’t know how to help the people that are coming asking for help. But I know I must do something and thankfully, everything has managed to work out, up until now.
What is the basic purpose of telling these stories through your show? Is it to educate or give people hope?
I believe every person is a hero. Some manage to invent heroic characteristics while others go unnoticed. There’s an old Hindi saying, ‘Hunar toh sabhi mein hota hai. Kisika chhup jata hai, toh kisika chhap jata hai (Everyone had talent. Some manage to use it, while others while it away)’. Every individual wants to achieve something in their lifetime. Depending on the circumstances, locations, and time that they live in, they could have doubts whether they can make a change in the world. Some end up saying, ‘forget it, I’ll take this vigil up later in life’. The essence is to forget that this vigil can be done later on and just do it right now. When you listen to stories like some achiever started off with absolutely nothing and yet managed to affect so many lives, that has the power to inspire hundreds of new heroes. The purpose of the show is to bring out these heroes and show the world that ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things.
What motivated you to take up the vigil of helping the common man? What was the trigger point for that? And how has that vigil changed you as a person and how has it added to your personality as a celebrity?
Connecting with common people gives me immense happiness. In the past few months, I have connected with more than 7.5 lakh people, sending many of those back to their homes and hometowns. And when those people reached home, they needed jobs, so we helped them out with that, too, when we started the program called Pravasi Rojgar. Through that initiative, we created 2 lakh 79 thousand jobs as well. We’ve managed to extend help to people in medical as well as educational aspects, too. Every new step I took, I learned how and what to do with it from the common people. They taught me what I could do for them. I had no clue how I could help people with medical assistance, what hospitals I could approach. But when they came forward with their problems, I reacted, we started exploring possibilities and figured out a way. I have always believed that the common man is the real hero and it’s just my job to make them realise how special they truly are. Inherently, I also connect more with common people than I do with celebrities. As actors and celebrities, I feel we create a bubble around ourselves. We are surrounded by 10 bodyguards and dozens of entourages. That’s not a life I identify with.
Do you miss being a common man?
I do miss being a common man, but I don’t shy away from living that life. Every chance I get, I go juice sugarcanes on the side of the road. I sit and eat lunch with daily workers. I feel this allows me to stay connected to my roots and my identity. Another old Hindi saying goes like, ‘Agar jadein choot jayengi toh zindagi ka santulan bigad jayega (Lose your roots and you’ll lose the balance of life)’. I try my level best to stay connected with common people and that’s the most important learning experience of my life.
You’ve also become the subject of countless memes. And yet, there are hundreds of people who have named their businesses after you. There’s a tremendous level of gratification coming your way. How does it feel to be such an integral part of popular culture?
I feel humbled and blessed. I wish my parents were around to see these things happening. I guess I miss them more today. I am sure they’re sitting in heaven and making all this happen for me. It also takes me back to the first time that I came to Mumbai and people told me, ‘Sonu Sood naam ka actor nahi ho sakta (You can’t have an actor named Sonu Sood)’. So many people asked me to change my name and I even considered doing that. I remember trying to call myself Aryaman. But then I felt that the identity of Sonu Sood was good enough to get me to Mumbai and I felt it was good enough to take me forward, as well. Today, when people name their businesses and kids after me, it makes me feel humbled and it makes me want to thank God for giving me this blessing.
Has your humanitarian and philanthropic career slowed down your film career, both in Bollywood and down South, too?
To be honest, I’ve completed two films recently. One called ‘Acharya’ with Chiranjeevi and ‘Prithviraj’ with Yash Raj Films. There are a few scripts that are pending, with directors who are waiting to narrate their stories, but I just haven’t found the time. With so much happening around me, with so many responsibilities and commitments, time has become a luxury. Also, when you have so much happening, you can’t commit yourself mentally to one thing. Especially the creative field asks you to drop everything else in life and focus on the story at hand and unfortunately I haven’t been able to do it of late. At least not as much as I would like to. I agree that my film career may have taken a little bit of a back seat, but it’s not like I am ignoring it. It’s just that it’s going to be a challenge going forward, committing to the many roles that I have at hand.
Every famous person eventually ends up facing some form of setback. You had a bit of a setback of late, when you ran into some problems with the Income Tax department. The question is, has your process of reacting and dealing with setbacks changed now as compared to early on in your career?
I don’t see them as setbacks in the first place. Even when the IT officials came over, I welcomed them and told them, ‘Come, enjoy yourselves, enjoy this space, take this as your own house. Do whatever you want, open thousands of mails and read what thousands of people are asking help with’. I think it ended up being a unique experience for those IT officers as well. When you are doing something right in your life, you will always end up facing challenges. When you drive on the road, you have to deal with speed breakers. I have always been prepared for whatever life throws at me. And the idea is to keep going, to not stop and in fact try and make my efforts bigger than ever before. Umeed se bada koi shabd nahi hota aur jab umeed hoti hai toh zimmedari apne aap aa jati hai (There’s no word bigger than hope and when you have hope, you become responsible). I believe I have strong enough shoulders to take up any responsibility in the world.
What sort of stories do you tell your sons Ishaant and Ayaan? What sort of discussions do you have with them?
Sometimes I feel very sorry that I am not able to spend time with them and at times I go upto Ishaant and Ayaan and apologize to them that I don’t have enough time for them. Instead of making a big deal out of it, my sons ask me to chill out. They tell me, ‘Papa if you give us time, it will mean that someone else will suffer, we would rather have you help those people’. Not just that, people send Ishaant and Ayaan messages on their social media asking them to refer their problems to me and believe it or not, they do that. Both my sons diligently follow up with me on their requests and even when I forget, they constantly hound me until I’ve acted on their requests. It makes me proud that I’ve been able to impart that sense into my children.
Does it ever happen that your sons end up teaching you a lesson or imparting wisdom on you?
Yes. Many times, when I am out of the city for an outdoor shoot, those seeking help don’t know that I am not at home. They still queue up and my sons end up meeting them, listening to their problems, assuring them that something will be done. And then they call me and explain all the problems. I know, those kids have no idea about what they have to do to solve people’s problems, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying and listening to those in need. That’s the biggest lesson that my boys have taught me.
Does that make you feel like a proud parent?
It does. And it is reassuring to see that my children have inculcated the right values. I’ve always told my wife Sonali that I want to impart the same lessons and values in my children that my parents taught me. And to see my boys be mature and understanding, while trying to give something back to society is reassuring. It makes me feel happy that they’ve seen me and imbibed all the right lessons of life.
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