Sonu Sood: I had gone to Uphaar Cinema to watch 'Border' on the day of the fire. Luckily, I didn’t get a ticket!

During the early years of his career, Sonu Sood spent a few months in Delhi as a struggling model. He says that those days were enough to teach life lessons and since then, Delhi has always been "the place of great beginnings" for him. Among his many stories and memories of Delhi, one that not many know, is how he escaped becoming a victim of the Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy."I had arrived in Delhi that year to pursue a career in modelling and acting and JP Dutta's Border had just released. Being a huge fan, I wanted to watch the movie as soon as I could, and went to Uphaar Cinema. But I could not get a ticket as the shows were running housefull. I returned home and later got to know about the fire that took so many lives. I recently shared this story with Dutta sir," Sonu tells us.
(BCCL/ Ranjit Kumar)
'Some dialogues in 'Dabangg' were inspired by my life'
Not many would know that Sonu’s character in 'Dabangg', Cheddi Singh, that got him appreciation in a negative role, was rewritten by him. He tells us that he refused to do the role when it was first offered to him. "I remember when the first time I was offered a negative role, I was very angry because I thought, ‘I am here to play a hero’. That inspired a dialogue in 'Dabangg' – ‘Bachpan se hum apne aap ko hero samajhte aaye, tum humein villain bolte ho'. I initially rejected the 'Dabangg' role because it was a very dark character and I didn’t want to play that. I then told the film’s team that I will rewrite my scenes and dialogues to add some flavour. And everyone loved the result," says Sonu.
That wasn’t the only input he had in the film. "The other thing in the movie that came from my own experiences was the photographer who used to say ‘Bhaiyyaji smile.' When I was doing my BE from Nagpur, I was staying in a hostel with many Biharis. And they actually had a photographer with them who would click them when they wore a new pair of jeans or a shirt and would say ‘Bhaiyyaji smile.' After doing that role and many others in south Indian films, I realised that people like a well-played, interesting negative role more than a regular, positive role in films," he shares.

'Paltan is a typical JP Dutta war film'
The actor, who is shooting for JP Dutta’s war film 'Paltan', says that the filmmaker told him years ago that the two of them will work on a film together. “In 2009, Dutta sir gave me a cheque and said, 'One day, I will make a film with you. But I don't know what film it will be.' I was very excited and told my dad about it. He is a huge fan of Dutta sir and said, ‘Sonu, he is one director you have to work with.' Now, it has finally happened after eight-nine years. When I went to Ladakh for the shooting, I was so excited that I didn’t even wait to get acclimatised to the weather, and reached the set. After watching him shoot for two-three days, I told him, 'Sir, picture banane ka haq bas aapko hi hai.’ Paltan is a typical JP Dutta genre, it has emotions of a soldier. It is something which every soldier will be proud of," Sonu says.