Sonu Sood

Education

Sonu Sood was educated at Sacred Heart School, Moga, Punjab and B.Tech in Electronics Engineering at Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering (YCCE), Nagpur.

Career

In 1999, Sood began his career through his first two Tamil language films, Kallazhagar and Nenjinile. He then appeared as an antagonist in the Telugu film Hands Up! in 2000. In 2001, he appeared in Majunu. He then began starring in Hindi films, with Shaheed-E-Azam, as Bhagat Singh in 2002. Sood earned recognition as Abhishek Bachchan's brother in Mani Ratnam's Yuva in 2004 and in Aashiq Banaya Aapne in 2005.

In Tollywood, with the release of Super in 2005, he received greater recognition for his work. In this film, his co-star was Nagarjuna as a high-tech thief. His next film was Athadu. In 2006, he again portrayed the antagonist in Ashok. It was an average grosser, but by now he had become popular in Telugu films.

In 2009, he played the role of Pasupathy in Arundhati. Following the Tollywood release of Arundhati, he played the role of Rajkumar Sujamal in the Indian epic film Jodha Akbar, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. In 2009, he played the role of gangster Bada in Anjaneyulu opposite Ravi Teja. In the latter half of 2009, he acted in another Telugu film Ek Niranjan, in which he again played the antagonist. In 2010, he played the lead antagonist in Abhinav Kashyap's Dabangg, co-starring with Salman Khan. His Kannada debut with Sudeep, Vishnuvardhana (2011), released to positive reviews of his performance. He was appointed "the state icon of Punjab" by the state election commission.

In April 2022, the popular reality show MTV Roadies - Season 18 was hosted by Sonu Sood in South Africa. As he reflected on the experience, he emphasized that the "magic" attribute of the show was that it demanded one to be absolutely real & every single day of our 45-day stay in South Africa was a learning experience for him.

Filmography

Dubbing career

Television

Music videos

Personal life

In 1996, Sood married Sonali, a Telugu lady, who hails from Andhra Pradesh. They have two sons named Ayaan and Ishant. He is an eggetarian.

Philanthropy

Sood Charity Foundation

Sood has founded the Sood Charity Foundation "to help people of all stature". An initiative by Sood for providing free coaching to UPSC exam candidates from underprivileged financial backgrounds. Sood was announced as the Delhi Government's brand ambassador of its Desh ke Mentor ("country mentor") programme by the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on 27 August 2021.

SANKALP is one of the flagship campaigns of the Sood Charity Foundation. It is a free law entrance coaching program to assist people with academic guidance and other essential resources for CLAT and AILET exam preparation. The goal has been to bridge the gap between the less-privileged deserving candidates and Law schools.

The train accident in Odisha's Balasore resulted in the death of over 250 people and left more than 1,000 injured. Sonu launched Helpline For Odisha Train Accident Victims and requests the government to set up a relief fund.

Fraudsters impersonating Sood Charity Foundation

Across the country there are many volunteers and agents who have possibly associated to support the work of the organization and have started contacting people via twitter, Facebook and Instagram to impersonate Sonu Sood and Sonali Sood and are collecting fees in his name. They take the money online via bank transfers and later withdraw the money via ATM machines. Reports also suggest that they spoof emails of Sood Charity Foundation. The Foundation has not actively taken steps to ensure this stops and contacting the foundation senior management is near impossible to most civilians.

Social work during the COVID-19 pandemic

In May 2020, during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sood helped thousands of stranded Indian migrant workers to reach their homes by arranging buses, special trains and chartered flights for them. In July 2020 he arranged a chartered flight to bring home over 1,500 Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan, flying them from Bishkek to Varanasi. His charity during the pandemic was lauded, and he was hailed as a real-life hero in India.

On 25 July 2020, a video of a farmer's daughters ploughing a field, like bulls with a yoke on their shoulders, went viral over social media. Sood quickly sent the family a tractor. On 5 August 2020, he helped 101 medical students, predominantly from Tamil Nadu, who were stranded in Moscow during the lockdown, reach Chennai safely on a chartered flight arranged by him after they contacted his team for help. On his birthday he launched a website and app called Pravasi Rojgar to help migrant workers find suitable jobs amid the pandemic. On 19 February 2021, Sood launched an initiative 'Ilaaj India' platform to provide healthcare services for needy people. In December 2020 he published I Am No Messiah, autobiographical book, narrating his journey to become an actor, and narrating his social work during the pandemic.

On 17 April 2021, Sonu Sood tested positive for COVID-19. He also shared a message for his fans in his post that read: "Covid – positive. Mood and spirit – super positive. Hi everyone, this is to inform you that I have tested positive this morning for COVID-19. As a part of precautions, I have already quarantined myself and taking utmost care. But don't worry this gives me ample time to solve your problems. Remember I am always there for you all."

In 2021, Sood provided much-needed oxygen plants and cylinders for COVID-19 patients in India. Sood and Kumar Vishwas have supported the Aao Gaon Bachayein ("Save the Villages") campaign started by comic poet and satirist Pankaj Prasun.

Bibliography

References

References

1. Goyal, Divya. (8 February 2016). "Sonu Sood's father passes away, actor says he is 'shattered'". [[The Indian Express]].
2. "Sonu Sood about his childhood memories with ANI".
3. Service, Tribune News. "Sonu Sood shares his birthday plans, reveals why he is making action-thriller 'Fateh'".
4. Joshi, Tushar. (26 October 2009). "Sonu Sood Wins Nandi Award For Arundhati".
5. (AFP). "'Dabangg' wins best picture at IIFA awards".
6. (1 November 2011). "Sonu Sood turns producer with Lucky Unlucky". [[The Hindu]].
7. "Top 100 Handsome Indian Men – Sonu Sood".
8. Kotwani, Hiren. (28 January 2017). "Jackie Chan unveils the poster of Sonu Sood's production '2 in 1'". [[The Times of India]].
9. (29 September 2020). "Sonu Sood's UNDP award makes his personal brand even taller". ET Brand Equity.com.
10. (29 September 2020). "Sonu Sood joins the likes of Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio as he receives UN award".
11. (29 September 2020). "Sonu Sood receives SDG special humanitarian action award by UNDP".
12. (2022-06-10). "Actor Sonu Sood Wants To 'Make People Addicted In A Good Way' With His Social Media App Explurger".
13. Tech, HT. (June 8, 2022). "Sonu Sood App Explurger to Take on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter? Check Out the Rewards You'll Get". [[The Hindustan Times]].
14. "Actor Sonu Sood's father dies". Tribuneindia News Service.
15. (25 September 2012). "Interview with Sonu Sood". Nagpur Today.
16. (7 May 2005). "Super – Telugu film – Nagarjuna, Ayesha Takia, Sonu Sood". Idlebrain.com.
17. "Sonu's on a high".
18. (11 December 2011). "Kannada Review: 'Only Vishnuvardhana' is racy".
19. "Sonu Sood Appointed As State Icon Of Punjab By Election Commission".
20. "Sonu Sood {{!}} MTV Roadies : How Sonu Sood prepared to host 'MTV Roadies'? He turned into a Roadie to connect with contestants". The Economic Times.
21. Vijayakumar, Sindhu. (6 April 2019). "Tamil cinema is my first love: Sonu Sood". [[The Times of India]].
22. Iyengar, Anusha. (3 April 2019). "Kajal Aggarwal shares a 'chilling' shot from her upcoming Telugu film, Sita [PHOTO]". [[Times Now]].
23. (20 December 2020). "Sonu Sood on shooting with Chiranjeevi: He refused to hit me on screen, saying people will curse him".
24. (26 September 2021). "BREAKING: Yash Raj Films announces theatrical release dates for Bunty Aur Babli 2, Prithviraj, Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Shamshera!".
25. "SreemantaU".
26. (11 March 2023). "Sonu Sood, Jacqueline Fernandez starrer 'Fateh' starts filming in Punjab". The Hindu.
27. "Sunanda Sharma's latest song 'Pagal Nahi Hona' ft. Sonu Sood is out".
28. Jain, Vaishali. (3 August 2021). "Saath Kya Nibhaoge: Sonu Sood, Nidhhi Agerwal drops FIRST glimpse of music video".
29. "Interview with Sonu Sood".
30. Garoo, Rohit. (15 November 2016). "Sonu Sood Marriage: The First Love Is Forever For This Actor".
31. Dedhia, Sonil. "Want a bikini body like Esha Gupta? Read this!".
32. "About Us".
33. Bharadwaj, Akanksha. (14 June 2021). "Sonu Sood Free IAS Coaching Scholarship [Sambhavam] by Sood Charity Foundation: Apply by June 30".
34. Bose, Joydeep. (27 August 2021). "Sonu Sood to be brand ambassador for Delhi's mentorship initiative, says Kejriwal".
35. Kohli, Robbie. (28 March 2017). "SANKALP – Free Law Education".
36. (8 June 2023). "Sonu Sood Launches Helpline For Odisha Train Accident Victims". [[Zee News]].
37. (8 June 2023). "Sonu Sood Launches Helpline To Help Odisha Train Accident Victims". [[News18]].
38. (2021-04-06). "Sonu Sood thanks Cyberabad police for saving his name from fraudsters".
39. Gosh, Raya. (24 May 2020). "Sonu Sood trends online for helping migrants go back home. Real hero, says Internet".
40. Dixit, Prashant. (24 May 2020). "Sonu Sood is the new Sushma Swaraj, helping stranded Indians one Twitter request at a time".
41. "Punjab CM hails 'Moga boy Sonu Sood' for helping migrant workers in crisis".
42. (22 July 2020). "Kapil Sharma tells Sonu Sood 'You have played a villain in films but you are a real life hero'". Times of India.
43. (26 July 2020). "Sonu Sood arranges charter flights for over 1,500 Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan, group of airborne students send actor message of gratitude". Times of India.
44. Pandey, Geeta. (25 May 2020). "Bollywood actor hailed for helping stranded migrants". BBC News.
45. Pavan, P.. (26 July 2020). "Andhra Pradesh: Sonu Sood sends tractor to Chittoor farmer to plough fields". Mumbai Mirror.
46. (5 August 2020). "Sonu Sood's largesse continues, actor helps 100 TN students stranded in Moscow reach Chennai".
47. "Sonu Sood Launches App With Three Lakh Job Opportunities For Migrant Workers".
48. (16 November 2020). "Sonu Sood is now Punjab icon, announces Election Commission".
49. "Sonu Sood Tests Positive For COVID-19: "Mood And Spirit – Super Positive"".
50. (11 May 2022). "Sonu Sood Brings Oxygen Plants From France To Fight Covid-19, Says 'Time is Biggest Challenge". [[India.com]].
51. (18 May 2021). "Sonu Sood, Kumar Vishwas back poet's Covid care campaign".
52. (22 May 2021). "Sonu Sood joints hands with Kumar Vishwas for 'Aao Gaon Bachayein".