Actor Randeep Hooda is thrilled as he finally got to fulfil his parents’ wish to witness the Beating the Retreat ceremony at Wagah border, Punjab. The Extraction (2020) actor shares that the short trip was more of an emotional affair.

He says, “It was my parents’ wish to attend the ceremony at the border. Watching our glorious history had my mum in tears and my dad and I were left speechless and in awe with pride. So much blood, sweat and personal sacrifice go into keeping our borders safe.”

Interestingly, the actor sought the help of his school friends instead of using his celebrity status to get those perfect seats.

He shares, “To avoid chaos and the feeling of being fish in a fishbowl, I dropped a message in my school group.”

The actor explains that he reached out to his classmate, who is in the Border Security Force (BSF), who in turn reached out to his course mate posted in the city to make sure that “my parents got the whole ‘apne uncle aunty hain’ experience”.

Opening up about the experience, the 45-year-old shares, “It was more like watching an India-Pakistan match, where instead of players, there were smartly-dressed soldiers.”

Hooda adds that watching the exchanges between the two sides, the coordination, the whole drill left him with goosebumps.

“The first soldier marches with his soles seeing the sky with every stride... It gets even more exciting when you see more soldiers with different flamboyant moves charge one another from both sides then come face to face and bring down their respective national flags,” the Sarbjit (2016) actor shares.

And there are many lessons that he has come back with. “The discipline, the sense of duty and the pride in the uniform and the country it serves is something we as citizens should always be grateful for,” Hooda shares, adding that he and his family also spent time with BSF personnel and enjoyed a meal at their mess. “We also went to the BSF museum,” he concludes.