“I love doing action flicks”- Sonu Sood 

By IndiaFM News Bureau, February 9, 2005 - 08:05 IST

Very little is known of this 'Bhagat Singh'. Lost in the crowd of the Bhagat Singh flicks released in 2002, Sonu Sood debuted with Shaheed-e-Azam. But he is better remembered as Gopal from Yuva (Abhishek's brother). With a lot of film experience from South and a lot more in his kitty, currently he is seen in the promos of Sheesha. Sonu speaks to IndiaFM exclusively about his journey.

Very little is known about you, tell us something about your background.
I hail from Punjab and have done my schooling there, after which I shifted to Nagpur for my Electronics Engineering. I used to do small fashion shows there, as Nagpur is not that big a place. Then suddenly the media interest cropped in so I went to Delhi for a year, did a couple of modeling assignments there and also participated in Mr. India contest. Then shows and modeling started saturating, so I thought why not shift to Bombay. Then I came here and suddenly Telugu films happened and I am still doing some Telugu and Tamil films. So that's been my journey from Punjab to Nagpur to Delhi and now Bombay. The journey has been good and quite difficult also. It has taught me a lot especially the South film industry.

Though your role in Yuva was impressive, why did you do a supporting role at the start of your career?
Actually my debut was Bhagat Singh. Infact I was nominated for the film. But then people did not recognize me that much. Mani Ratnam saw that film and called me for a role in his film. Yuva got me attention. I was called for Ajay's role when he was not signed. I also auditioned for the role but somehow he felt that I suited Gopal's role. And you can't refuse a technician like Maniji. Yuva got me a lot of good reviews and people called me for their films. In South too, things started cropping up. This is how Sheesha happened and also the film with Shyam Benegal - Bose happened. I always wanted to work with good technicians and I am working with them.

Performance wise after Yuva, the expectations will be high from you. Are you happy with your work in Sheesha or is there something you want to go back and re-do?
After watching every film you want to go back and change something, that happens all the time. But we have tried our level best, there are some action sequences that I have really been comfortable doing, the songs have turned out to be very good but there is always scope for improvement. After my every film I try my level best to improve in my next film. It's a running process and it will always be like that.

What is the film Sheesha like?
Sheesha is a thriller, it has got action element also, it's a romantic film it has got its moments…It is passionate love story - if I can define the film in one line.

Tell us about your role in Sheesha.
I play the character of Raj. He is an ad filmmaker, he edits fashion shows and Sia is the character played by Neha who is a fashion designer. Since both are related to the media they meet and this is how they start working together and here is where the actual story starts. Since it is a suspense thriller I cant reveal much about the film. It's a good plot; it's a full commercial film I can say.

Early in your career you have had the opportunity to work with fine filmmakers like Mani Ratnam and now Guddu Dhanoa - how much has the experience shaped you as an actor?
I think every director has his own element to teach, Mani Ratnam sir had his own way of shooting, in between the shots he tells you about your best angles, how to take light in particular shot, and how to lose light in a particular shot. So I think every technician teaches you something. Guddu Dhanoaji is a very commercial filmmaker and I know the kind of action his films portray so I was trying to deliver that for him. Every school, every lecture teaches you something and I am getting to work with good technicians and I am getting to learn a lot.

How was the experience of working with Neha Dhupia?
Neha is very professional; the first day I met her at Gudduji's office she had her own set of questions to ask to Ashu- our director. She was asking about her character Sia, how she is going to be, how is she going to react to the character of Raj. So I knew that she is not somebody who will just come on the sets and deliver her lines, she has lots of homework to do and she sat on the script, like we did for this film and spoke to Ashu a lot about our characters. We had our own script reading sessions and rehearsals also. She is a very professional artist and she used to work at a stretch for about 24-30 hrs. And was always on her toes, she is a very good artist to work with.

Your on screen chemistry with Neha Dhupia is already creating interest and you both have teamed up in Siskiyaan. How does it feel?
Its good if two artistes work together and people feel that they look good together and if some kind of chemistry is seen then that's very good. That's why both Neha and me are doing Siskiyaan also together, which is a very different subject altogether. I always feel that if you have to do any kind of romantic scenes and if you don't have the chemistry then it looks vulgar. But if you have the chemistry then it looks nice and beautiful. If we look good together I am sure it is good for the film and also for the producers.

Can you briefly point out what is Siskiyaan all about?
Siskiyaan is one of the very good scripts that I have read in my short span in this industry. Ashwini Chaudhary is the director of the film and he is a brilliant technician. Siskiyaan is again a thriller; it's a one-night story where a stranger comes to one house and suddenly the whole scene changes in that particular house. When I got the narration from Ashwini, I was so excited about the film, because it is a one-night story, which can happen to anyone. The idea is so interesting that I wanted to be a part of it. My character has so many shades from positive to negative; lots of things are there for an actor to perform in it. So I am really excited about this new venture.

Do you have any dream roles?
Actually I have a lot of dream roles; one of my most favourite roles is what Mr. Bachchan did in Deewaar. I think all my dream roles have been already played by a lot of people… still I love doing action so if there is a film that has a lot of action, I would love to do that.

“I feel awkward when one turns around and calls me sexy”- Neha Dhupia