‘Randeep Hasn’t Had It Easy But…’

‘He
surprised
us
by
telling
us
he
wanted
to
make
a
career
in
acting.’
‘We
were
scared
since
we
knew
nothing
of
this
profession
but
then,
he
landed
a
role
in
Mira
Nair’s

Monsoon
Wedding.’
‘After
seeing
him
holding
his
own
on
screen,
we
decided
to
let
the
boy
pursue
his
passion.’

Mother’s
Day
is
special
for
Randeep
Hooda
and
he
usually
commemorates
the
day
with
an
Instagram
post
dedicated
to
his
mother,

Asha
Hooda,
who
he
describes
as
his
‘Happy
Place’.

“I
have
seen
every
film
of
Randeep’s
at
least
two
times
in
theatres,”
Asha
tells


Rediff
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya.
“On
TV
and
OTT,
every
time
I
come
across
one
of
his
films
playing,
I
watch
it
till
the
end
even
if
I
have
seen
it
countless
times
before.”

‘Randeep
ran
out
with
a
stick,
embarrassing
me’

Randeep
was
a
lovable
child,
and
a
naughty
one
too,
but
that
didn’t
bother
me
because
I
have
always
believed
that

thodi
si
shararat
(a
little
mischief)
keeps
the
brain
active
and
sharp.

When
he
was
around
two,
I
used
to
teach
in
a
school
in
Rohtak,
Haryana,
and
Randeep
would
sometimes
follow
me
to
class,
peeking
out
at
the
other
children
from
behind
my
chair.

The
principal
of
the
school
was
very
strict
and
whenever
he
caught
Randeep,
he
would
reprimand
him
for
disturbing
my
class.

(Laughs)
One
day,
he
came
home
and
Randeep
ran
out
with
a
stick,
embarrassing
me.

When
my
daughter
Anjali
was
in
Standard
1,
I
had
sent
her
to
Rai
(a
village
and
development
block
in
the
Sonipat
district
of
Haryana)
to
stay
with
my
mother
since
both
my
husband
(Randeep’s
father,
Ranbir
Singh
Hooda,
is
a
surgeon)
and
I
(Asha
was
a
teacher
and
social
worker)
were
busy
and
travelling
extensively.

We
enrolled
her
at
the
Motilal
Nehru
School
of
Sports
in
Rai
where
she
excelled
academically,
going
on
to
become
a
doctor.

When
Randeep
was
in
Standard
4,
my
husband
decided
to
move
to
the
Middle
East
and
we
sent
Randeep
to
his

nani‘s
place
in
Rai
as
well,
so
that
his
studies
would
not
be
affected.

He
was
admitted
to
the
same
school
as
Anjali.

Only
my
youngest
child,
Sandeep,
now
a
software
engineer
working
with
a
bank
in
Singapore,
travelled
with
us.

‘He
is
an
expert
rider
and
owns
horses
in
Mumbai’

While
at
MNSS,
Randeep
developed
an
interest
in
equestrian
sport.

We
had
deliberately
opted
for
a
sports
school
because
back
then,
there
weren’t
too
many
opportunities
for
children
to
engage
in
extra-curricular
activities
and
we
didn’t
want
our
kids
to
be
cooped
up
at
home.

At
MSSS,
you
have
to
compulsorily
pick
one
sport:
Anjali
chose
swimming
while
Randeep
showed
an
interest
in
horse-riding.

Today,
he
is
an
expert
rider
and
owns
horses
in
Mumbai.

He
has
played
polo
and
won
many
medals
in
dressage
and
show
jumping.

Besides
horses,
he
loves
all
other
animals
too
and
often
goes
on
holidays
to
jungles,
returning
with
loads
of
beautiful
pictures
which
he
has
shot.

‘He
surprised
us
by
admitting
that
he
wanted
to
make
a
career
in
acting’

My
husband’s
village
is
a
20-minute
drive
from
Rai
and
he
would
often
go
there
to
visit
his

dadi.

After
his
Standard
10,
Randeep
moved
to
Delhi
where
he
completed
his
schooling
at
the
Delhi
Public
School.

After
that,
we
decided
to
send
him
to
Australia
for
higher
studies.

We
believed
that
living
abroad
would
give
him
better
exposure
and
inculcate
in
him
a
sense
of
discipline.

In
Melbourne,
we
supported
him
till
he
graduated,
then
insisted
that
he
work
while
doing
his
master’s
there.

In
those
two
years
in
Australia,
he
did
a
lot
of
odd
jobs.

Once
he
was
back
in
Delhi
with
an
MBA,
he
got
some
good
offers,
but
he
didn’t
want
a
9
am
to
5
pm
job.

He
had
started
modelling
while
in
Melbourne
and
was
doing
amateur
theatre
in
Delhi.

He
surprised
us
by
telling
us
he
wanted
to
make
a
career
in
acting.

We
were
scared
initially
since
we
knew
nothing
of
this
profession
but
then,
he
landed
a
role
in
Mira
Nair’s

Monsoon
Wedding.
After
seeing
him
holding
his
own
on
screen,
we
decided
to
let
the
boy
pursue
his
passion.

Eventually,
it’s
his
life
and
he
should
live
it
his
way.

So
he
came
to
Mumbai,
even
though
we
had
no
family
or
friends
here,
to
make
a
career
in
the
movies.

What
followed
was
a
long
struggle
but
Randeep
did
not
turn
to
us
for
financial
help.

He
did
commercials
to
support
himself
financially,
working
with
Naseeruddin
Shah’s
Motley
Theatre
Group
and
doing
theatre
workshops
with
him
to
polish
his
acting
skills.

]

‘We
saw

D
in
Rohtak’

His
career
took
a
turnaround
when
Ram
Gopal
Varma
spotted
him
and
signed
him
for
three-four
films,
launching
him
as
the
lead
in
his
2005
crime
thriller,

D.

We
saw

D
in
a
local
theatre
in
Rohtak.

It
was
a
packed
house
and
the
crowds
were
unbelievable.

There
were
some
local
politicians
in
attendance
too
and
excitement
was
high
as
he
was

apna
chhora
(our
local
boy).

Randeep
gave
a
very
good
performance
and
everyone
was
congratulating
us
after
the
show.

We
were
so
proud
and
happy
to
see
the
craze
for
him,
a
craze
that
continues
to
this
day.

There
have
been
many
more
wonderful
performances
since
and
it’s
hard
to
pick
a
favourite
because
I
love
them
all.

I
have
seen
every
film
of
Randeep’s,
including
the
recently
released

Jaat,
at
least
two
times
in
theatres.

On
TV
and
OTT,
every
time
I
come
across
one
of
his
films
playing,
I
watch
it
till
the
end
even
if
I
have
seen
it
countless
times
before.

I
was
particularly
impressed
with

Swatantrya
Veer
Savarkar.

Randeep
not
only
plays
the
titular
role
in
this
2024
biopic,
but
has
also
co-written,
co-produced
and
directed
the
film
which
called
for
a
lot
of
hard
work,
research
and
dedication.

He
devoted
two
years
to
it,
as
an
actor,
going
through
a
gruelling
weight
loss
journey
and
even
shooting
with
a
fractured
knee.

A
match
in
Manipur

Every
parent
makes
a
lot
of
sacrifices
and
goes
through
the
grind
hoping
their
children
will
do
well
in
life.
We
are
fortunate
that
all
three
of
our
children
have
done
so
well.

Randeep
hasn’t
had
it
easy
but
today,
when
we
see
our
boy
so
successful,
not
just
in
films,
but
bringing
so
many
positive
changes
in
his
village
and
state
too,
it
makes
his
father
and
me
so
proud.

And
now,
he
is
not
alone,
he
has
found
a
perfect
life
partner
in
Lin
Liashram.

His
wife
is
a
cultured
girl
with
a
sweet
voice.

Lin
is
a
model
and
actor
herself
who
has
her
own
eco-friendly
jewellery
brand.
She
has
opened
a
restaurant
too.

Initially,
we
had
wanted
a
Haryanvi

bahu
for
our
son
but
when
we
saw
how

khush
our

ladka
was
with
Lin
and
she
with
Randeep,
we
were
happy
to
give
them
our
blessings.

The
wedding
was
in
Manipur,
following
all
the
rituals
of
the
bride’s
family.

We
had
taken
along
our
wedding
finery,
but
ended
up
wearing
the
traditional
clothes
given
by
Lin’s
family.

The
wedding
itself
was
an
experience
with
10-12
priests
chanting

mantras
and
hymns
solemnly,
invoking
the
Gods,

There
were
so
many
people,
and
yet
it
was
all
so
quiet
and
regal
with
no
DJ
playing
loud
music.

When
we
had
first
visited
Mumbai,
we
had
stayed
for
six-seven
days
with
Randeep
in
a
one
BHK
flat.

Once
he
settled
down
here,
we
kept
returning
to
the
city,
but
since
my
husband
was
still
working
then
and
I
was
busy
with
my
social
work
—
I
was
director
of
the
Haryana
State
Electricity
Board
—
we
couldn’t
stay
longer
than
a
fortnight
even
when
he
moved
into
a
bigger
place.

It
was
only
six
years
ago,
after
my
husband
retired,
that
we
moved
here
for
good
and
now
live
with
Lin
and
Randeep.

Life
couldn’t
be
better.