As told to Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 6, 2018)

I was born in Moga, Punjab, to a businessman father Shakti Sagar and mother, Saroj, who was a professor and was very clear that I had to complete my education before I could pursue whatever I wanted to do in life. After my tenth standard board exams, I worked briefly in my dad’s showroom and learnt to identify different fabrics, how to sell them and handle customers. I owe my business acumen to my father.

By the time I finished my high school, terrorism was a serious concern in Punjab, so I shifted to Nagpur to study electronics engineering at the Yeshwantrao Chavan College. I was doing well academically but in the second year, encouraged by my friends, I was drawn to modelling and acting. By the time I was in the third year, I’d decided that after getting my degree, I would go to Mumbai with my dream of becoming an actor. I started putting money into my piggy bank with plans to use it to make a portfolio which I shot immediately after I was done with my final year exams. I remember it cost me around Rs 6,000 at the time.

I knew to survive in Mumbai I needed a steady source of income as I didn’t want to be a burden on my parents. So, I had started applying for jobs and finally got a call from a private firm with an office in South Mumbai. I landed in the city with Rs 5,500 believing it would last me a month but it was over in eight to 10 days.

I used to live as a paying guest with six boys in a one room-kitchen apartment in the suburbs. I got the job and since I was required to be on the field, I had bought a monthly pass from Borivali to Churchgate. My monthly remuneration was Rs 4,500. Since I was so intent on making it, I didn’t feel the pinch.

I hit the gym every morning at 5.30 and trained for two hours after which I would leave for work at around 8. The field job helped me learn different routes. Along the way, I’d drop off my pictures at film production offices and try to make contacts. I quickly realised that the job was taking up a lot of my time, so I quit after five months, giving myself a year of struggle. I, however, continued modelling which I had started doing while studying in Nagpur. My first assignment earned me Rs 500, a huge sum back then. I bought a denim for myself with the money. Later, in Delhi, I got paid Rs 3000 for a shoot even though I contracted conjunctivitis a day before. In Mumbai, my maiden assignment was for a shoe brand for which I was paid Rs 2000 daily for three days. It helped me survive for another month in the city.

The idea behind taking up these assignments was to stick around in the hope of a big movie break. One day, I got a message on my pager from a coordinator wondering if I’d be interested in a Tamil film. Soon after, I was on a train to Chennai without even a reserved ticket because it was such a short notice. The coordinator picked me up on his bike from the station and we drove to the studio where the producers were waiting. After a few questions, they asked me if I could take off my Tee. I obliged in front of the unit and impressed, they gave me the role, along with a cheque of Rs 11,000 as the signing amount. And that’s how I ended up doing the 1999 Tamil drama Kallazhagar.

I didn’t know the language, so my mom sent me a book on how to learn Tamil, insisting I pick up the bhasha so I could express myself better on-screen. I was like a school kid prepping up for his exams, revising till I got it right. That was the beginning of my showbiz journey. It’s been almost two decades and I’m still excited about facing the camera.


Sonu Sood (second from right) during his college days in Nagpur