I've not understood this beast called Bollywood: Randeep Hooda
The past few years may have been disappointing for actor Randeep Hooda professionally, but a more calm and confident Hooda has emerged from it. Well armed with several acting projects now, including a film with Salman Khan , another with Hollywood hearthrob Chris Hemsworth , the Highway actor, who has just completed Love Aaj Kal 2 with Imtiaz Ali , says he is in a better space than he was when he said no to a lot of projects while prepping for his role of Havildar Ishar Singh for the film Battle of Saragarhi , which never got made, and the role was later played by Akshay Kumar in Kesari.
Mention about the film to Hooda and he just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. But Randeep says the prep for the role made him delve a lot into Sikhism and made him self-introspect, which has brought about a remarkable change in his thinking and life. On his recent visit to Lucknow, the Kick actor talked about the flip side of the film not being made and how it has actually worked for him.
You’ve been doing a lot of social work of late like feeding flood hit people in Kerala, cleaning the beach in Mumbai, etc.
You’ve been doing a lot of social work of late like feeding flood hit people in Kerala, cleaning the beach in Mumbai, etc.
I feel, you have to go out in the world to feed the actor within you. And I feel that when I do something for a greater good, which is not personally or directly connected to me, I feel better about myself because I think it’s a sense of contribution.
Plus, my interest in Sikhism has brought around a lot of changes in me. I guess you only discover what lies within you already. That’s what’s happened to me (laughs). I enjoy it and it’s very enriching. And when you go to these places and meet this people, there’s a sense of reality that hits you. It’s a more normal kind of environment in which I like to go into and I think it’s all connected and was destined for me, I guess.
Randeep says his love for animals surpasses everything (BCCL/ @RandeepHooda)
But what triggered off this feeling of service?
I started doing it while preparing for Battle of Saragarghi. Because I saw in the Sikh community their sense of seva which goes beyond just the langar that people see. When I worked with them, I realized what it is when you go and wash dishes in a gurudwara or put people’s footwear away and it’s then that you feel it’s all so humbling. It’s so full of humility and brings in such a sense of service and purpose along with a sense of pride in you in doing whatever it is. So I think it started from there and I would like it to continue. It makes you feel of some worth. There is a sense of peace within me. I have a more of a lightness in being. I have spent a lot of time in my life unable to recognize this angst within me. Anger that I always carried and I couldn’t figure out. What led to it, I don’t know; maybe a series of experiences which lead to that. Ones which probably I’m not aware of. Maybe from my childhood or the teens or my youth. But I carried a lot of angst in me which I used in my art also. But then you get what you beget. So now I’m in a lighter way and it’s making me feel more free, a better human being and also a better actor, I hope!
How has it all impacted your professional life?
Maybe now you will see me in lighter roles now. Maybe this energy will attract those kind of films for me now. There have been times when I’ve pushed the boundaries in changing myself for a certain character in a film. I did a bit of that in Rang Rasiya, Risk, and I think Main Aur Charles was the first attempt to really alter yourself, then for Sarbjit I got caught up a lot in changing myself not just mentally but physically too. But for Saragarhi I really went overboard. And I think that has stayed with me because it was such a noble yet flawed character. But whatever good you can retain from it, it’s fine. But I can walk away from all of it now. I’m trying that, so let’s see. But you’ve got to come back and that’s what my friend Adil Husain told me while we were doing ...Charles. His guru in Hampi, I think, told him that it (any work) should not be able to affect you and that’s the first time I thought of it and then do things. So I don’t really know. I’m still looking for myself and trying to do what I like best. Trying to recognize what you like, dislike, what you love more than other things is the journey of life and the more you understand it, the more you love life and I’m loving my life.
Maybe now you will see me in lighter roles now. Maybe this energy will attract those kind of films for me now. There have been times when I’ve pushed the boundaries in changing myself for a certain character in a film. I did a bit of that in Rang Rasiya, Risk, and I think Main Aur Charles was the first attempt to really alter yourself, then for Sarbjit I got caught up a lot in changing myself not just mentally but physically too. But for Saragarhi I really went overboard. And I think that has stayed with me because it was such a noble yet flawed character. But whatever good you can retain from it, it’s fine. But I can walk away from all of it now. I’m trying that, so let’s see. But you’ve got to come back and that’s what my friend Adil Husain told me while we were doing ...Charles. His guru in Hampi, I think, told him that it (any work) should not be able to affect you and that’s the first time I thought of it and then do things. So I don’t really know. I’m still looking for myself and trying to do what I like best. Trying to recognize what you like, dislike, what you love more than other things is the journey of life and the more you understand it, the more you love life and I’m loving my life.
Randeep Hooda (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)
Battle of Saragarhi, to which you dedicated two years of your life, never got made. Was it disappointing for you?
It is not disappointing, rather it was a changing experience. And it is not as if I am putting on a mask, but I did not do it for that. I grew my hair and beard and stuff but I did it for my own satisfaction and to test my own boundaries. See everybody wants recognition and the fact people are talking about it is recognition in itself. I don’t have to have someone stand up hand me a memento for that. I know where all I lacked in it more than anybody else and I will try and improve upon it if I’m given another chance. So yeah, it wasn’t disappointing that the film never got made, but it has added to my personality immensely. Highway was another changing experience. That was very angsty. That was so long ago and now I’m thinking of how I can be healthier. I wake up early and sleep early. Rather now I wake up when I used to sleep! (laughs). Those are the things that concern me more now than what happened to me a few years ago.
You have also been spending a lot of time in the wild and in forests.
Yes! Whenever I go to the jungle, I feel there’s a calling within me to be there. As soon as I go to the jungle, life makes sense. Evolution makes sense! If you want to look deeper within yourself you should spend time in nature. It makes you look deep within yourself and gives you a sense of timelessness and makes you aware of the fact that you are actually a very-very-very small part of this evolution. This social media, phone, WhatsApp, and the whole rigmarole of what’s happening in the world and then then you go to the jungle and it all just doesn’t matter! In the scheme of what we are in terms of time, not even a dot we are in the fabric of the universe or even earth that’s going on. And to have a bit of lightness, a jungle is the best place to be. You realize you’re a very small part of the scheme, and to even have a small part of it is huge. For us to make sense of ourselves, we need nature. We need these beautiful things, to even breathe we need nature.
Yes! Whenever I go to the jungle, I feel there’s a calling within me to be there. As soon as I go to the jungle, life makes sense. Evolution makes sense! If you want to look deeper within yourself you should spend time in nature. It makes you look deep within yourself and gives you a sense of timelessness and makes you aware of the fact that you are actually a very-very-very small part of this evolution. This social media, phone, WhatsApp, and the whole rigmarole of what’s happening in the world and then then you go to the jungle and it all just doesn’t matter! In the scheme of what we are in terms of time, not even a dot we are in the fabric of the universe or even earth that’s going on. And to have a bit of lightness, a jungle is the best place to be. You realize you’re a very small part of the scheme, and to even have a small part of it is huge. For us to make sense of ourselves, we need nature. We need these beautiful things, to even breathe we need nature.
An avid photographer, the actor loves clicking pictures of the wildlife and posts them online with hashtags #jungleehooda and #wildrandeep (BCCL/ @RandeepHooda)
And you have been exploring the jungles all over India.
I have explored Maharashtra forest, Madhya Pradesh, a bit of UP and I’ve been to Uttarakhand and also Rajasthan. Now I want to explore the South sanctuaries. I also want to see the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary which is here close by. I’ve been told it’s in a bad shape so I want to work on that. Birds are the most fascinating and diverse creatures on earth. I wanted to go there very enthusiastically till someone told me that the lake is covered with weeds and birds are not coming there anymore. So I hope something is done to revive that. I would like to request the forest department of UP and Yogi Aditynath the Chief Minister, who I’m told is a nature lover, to please have the lake cleaned out so that the birds can come back again and rejuvenate the place. Nature rejuvenates itself, the birds will start coming in again and it will again become a beautiful place. We saw that at the Versova Beach in Mumbai with the Ridley Turtles. So just like Yogiji stopped the cutting of trees in Kishangarh, near Dudhwa for that road project, I hope he will take notice of the Nawabganj lake too and get it rejuvenated. That decision of his fantastic because it is what impacts our lives most. As long as wildlife is safe, we are safe.
Would you say that Bollywood has started taking note of you now?
(Laughs heartily) To be honest, I’ve really not understood this beast called Bollywood. I’ve always been working. I’ve worked with almost everybody. I’ve been working in different kinds of films with different kinds of people and I have enjoyed them all. From an absolute commercial pot-boiler like Kick to doing a Sarabjeet to doing a Bombay Talkies to even doing a Charles, I’ve worked with all kinds of people and I’ve enjoyed each experience. There is a thing that you should look at. A lot of people who have been in the industry since long – very successful people – have told me that you shouldn’t change your look too often but I did just that. In the last 14-15 years I’ve been fortunate to have worked with people and I’ve loved what I’ve done. But good, if one says that Bollywood has starting to notice me. It’s high time!
(Laughs heartily) To be honest, I’ve really not understood this beast called Bollywood. I’ve always been working. I’ve worked with almost everybody. I’ve been working in different kinds of films with different kinds of people and I have enjoyed them all. From an absolute commercial pot-boiler like Kick to doing a Sarabjeet to doing a Bombay Talkies to even doing a Charles, I’ve worked with all kinds of people and I’ve enjoyed each experience. There is a thing that you should look at. A lot of people who have been in the industry since long – very successful people – have told me that you shouldn’t change your look too often but I did just that. In the last 14-15 years I’ve been fortunate to have worked with people and I’ve loved what I’ve done. But good, if one says that Bollywood has starting to notice me. It’s high time!
Yet you’re not part of any group or ‘gang’ as they say.
My gang is much bigger. It’s got tigers and leopards and sambhars and bears and elephants. Horses and dogs too! Beautiful friends of mine who are always there for me, great parents, family, the great team that I work with. I’m the ‘gang’ man! I have great bunch of director friends so I’m the truly gang man.
Your are coming to Lucknow after a long gap. How’s it been this time?
Randeep cleaning up the beach in Mumbai (BCCL/ @randeephooda)
My gang is much bigger. It’s got tigers and leopards and sambhars and bears and elephants. Horses and dogs too! Beautiful friends of mine who are always there for me, great parents, family, the great team that I work with. I’m the ‘gang’ man! I have great bunch of director friends so I’m the truly gang man.
Your are coming to Lucknow after a long gap. How’s it been this time?
I shot in Lucknow many years ago, I guess in 2011. I usually pass through Lucknow going to these forests in Pallia, Lakhimpur Kheri, Dudhwa. I think the heritage arc of Uttar Pradesh is one of the most beautiful. The biodiversity, rich dense forests which are still untouched. It is still one of the most beautiful places on the earth! So I think extra care should be taken to preserve it and find ways to circumvent the forest and not go inside it. And also there has to be more pressing of relocating certain villages from within the core areas of the jungle. And the government provides very good incentives for it. It will also enrich people’s lives. Yes, it’s understandable that it has been people’s homes forever, but it’s also a necessity to preserve that very thing with the consent of the people there.
But of course Lucknow is a gem in itself in terms of heritage. It’s a beautiful blend of heritage with modern. I see historical places and beside them these modern buildings. And of course, yahan ki tehzeeb, of course ab utni nahi rahi but Haryana ke hisaab se toh abhi bhi bahut hai. (laughs)
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