Randeep Hooda: One jism alone is of no interest really!

After years of being known as Sushmita Sen’s boyfriend, today Randeep Hooda has his very own identity, that of a good actor. He has finally come into his own as he gets ready to unleash his creative side in not one, but seven films this year with Jannat 2 having hit the marquee last week. He speaks to Firstpost about his journey from a late-night cab driver to an actor worth his salt. You’ve had a slow start in films starting with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding in 2000 with a miniscule part and then after five long years, you starred in Ram Gopal Varma’s D. Why so? I couldn’t bear to see myself on screen in Monsoon Wedding! I felt I was a terrible actor and didn’t have the goods to be an actor. I felt I wasn’t acting at all in the film. There was a party going on after the film released and one of the US distributors of the film, seated next to me, said, “You’re the only one who is not acting in the film” and my heart broke. It was a confirmation that I wasn’t good enough. Today, I hope he meant that in the way that I understand it – it is all about not looking like you’re acting. I hope I carry on for many, many years not acting on screen! It is an ongoing struggle and I haven’t mastered the art of not acting. I am always conscious of what I am doing, but I give it my all.  You have waited tables, driven taxis in Melbourne, car washes, the works before turning to celluloid dramas… It’s true I’ve washed cars in Australia, waited tables and done three years of night shift taxis. When you’re driving a cab, especially in the night, passengers tune you out into an invisible being – almost as if you don’t exist, though you do. Alcohol makes them say and do weird things, which they don’t realise the driver is privy to. It was the most enlightening experience working the night shift. It is my biggest bank of life experiences. I used to make 20-50 AUD in tips just for my music selection in the cab. I used to identify passengers’ moods just from the way they were dressed, what kind of building they came out from and the way they walked - sprightly, rejected or tired. Tips are especially good when passengers make out in the cab on bouncy roads after alcohol fuelled nights! I used to work at a Thai-Malay-Chinese restaurant called Inn of Khong. I started with peeling onions, then went on to peeling potatoes and was moved up to the delivery service and cooking rice eventually. In six months, I was a waiter! One thing I can tell you for sure is that you should never piss off your waiters! They do bad stuff to your food and I did too! Some mean patrons drive you to do disgusting stuff. I was only 18-19 years old then. People should tip their waiter at the beginning of a meal to ensure good service. What’s happening to your film Rang Rasiya directed by Ketan Mehta wherein you play the 20th century painter, Raja Ravi Verma? Why is it not releasing? I am Rang Rasiya man! The film was made before the recession hit us on an expansive scale – in English and Hindi and dubbed in German too. It requires a wide release to do justice to it. Rang Rasiya will see the light of day soon. Are you the jism in Jism 2 or is it porn star Sunny Leone who you are working with on the film? [caption id=“attachment_301977” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Today, Randeep Hooda has his very own identity, that of a good actor.”]  [/caption] One jism alone is of no interest really. Only when the two of them collide in the cosmic sense can there be any sparks. I ride, swim, exercise and play tennis - using one’s body becomes a pleasure and a habit. It is the best instrument you’ll ever own in your life. Sunny is an affable girl, pretty regular in that sense. I do not understand why skin exposure in films is such a big deal – it is far more difficult to expose your soul than your body - to be able to show a part of yourself on screen which us human beings are always in the process in hiding. For men, the body is an add-on to a good face and acting credentials. You have got to have charm to have sex appeal- it’s never in the face. Personally, I am not taken in by a physique that says I spent four hours in the gym. People knew you before you became a film star thanks to your romantic liaison with Sushmita Sen. Are you both still friends? How does it feel to be remembered more as a boyfriend of hers than on your acting credentials till date? It’s a sad thing to happen to any actor when credentials take a back seat vis a vis their work which is an art form really. But I don’t think that I’m remembered as her boyfriend now – it is no longer the case as far as my fame is concerned today. In Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine, you are portraying the flamboyant cricketer Imran Khan. Structurally, you’re both very different. How easy or difficult is that? Imran Khan is definitely an inspiration – he’s got his debonair charm. He had the voice, the looks, the ability on and off the field with his magnetic personality, but that’s not what my character in Heroine is. It is Imran’s spirit that I am emulating on screen, like his confidence, ability to hold his own and charm women. Jannat 2, Shooter, Cocktail, John Day action drama thriller with Naseeruddin Shah – it looks like there is some pace to your career this year… From 2005, I have done 10-12 movies so far, out of which 8-9 have been released. Out of the 7 years as an Indian movie actor, I took off for two and a half years riding across the country winning national medals in equestrian tournaments. Acting is not the job my father had, so it wasn’t like I had to do it. The “how to go about this business” was befuddling and I was questioning myself, training and riding horses. I realized I’m not as happy as I am doing anything else than when I am acting so I plunged right back in with a clearer head with Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, which worked for me. I usually do one movie a year, and this year, I am doing seven. Naseeruddin Shah is a dear friend and his contribution to my knowledge of the craft is immense. I wouldn’t be much of an actor if it wasn’t for him. I do theatre with him - it kept me alive. I did a play called Waiting For Godot and I like the thrill of a live audience, anywhere in the world. I want to die on a film set – this is what I do for a living. I want to be an actor who people want to watch on screen.