Actor Sonu Sood is a hands-on dad who believes in bringing up his kids Eshaan and Ayaan with warmth, love, and discipline.
At 6 feet 4 inches, film star Sonu Sood dwarfs his children easily. But he does so with warm playfulness as he scoops up little Ayaan, 4, and cracks jokes with Eshaan, 10. I meet the trio in Mumbai at their disarming best and we get chatting about ice creams, cricket, temper tantrums and more.
“I wish I could spend more time with my kids,” says Sonu. Film promotions for his latest super hit Shootout At Wadala, and shoot schedules for his upcoming releases Rambo Rajkumar and film-maker Prabhudeva’s next film, have been keeping him extremely busy. “But I don’t party. I prefer to do my work, make the public appearances I am expected to, and then spend time with my family,” he confesses.
An engineer by education and an actor by profession, Sonu grew up in Moga, Punjab. “We have our family business there, but my father never made me feel that I could simply grow up and take over the reins. He told me I had to earn my place and make a mark for myself. Once I completed my studies from Nagpur, I tried my luck in films. It took me a few years to slowly establish myself in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries. I could then afford to wait, pick and choose my projects in Bollywood,” he says, speaking of his humble beginnings. “For this reason, I do not wish to give everything to my kids on a platter. I want them to work towards realizing their dreams.”
Shilpi Madan in conversation with Sonu Sood
Read the Full Interview