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Randeep Hooda: Powerhouse Of Passion

As wild and raw as the roles he has picked for himself, Randeep Hooda is like a perfect paradox who loves to be in the spotlight only to sneak away into anonymity time and again. He is unabashed, he is unorthodox and he is reinventing being unconventional into being cool.

Story By: Sadhika Sehgal
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Naam nahi pehchaan bata”, says ACP Agnel Wilson to a subordinate police officer and suddenly I am pushed out of my inertia. The year was 2010 and the film that suddenly caught my attention on TV was Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, except it wasn’t for Ajay Devgn’s swag or Kangana Ranaut’s exquisite wardrobe, but for the cutting-edge, raw and real acting of this man on screen who I saw for the first time that day - Randeep Hooda.

Little did I know that years later in 2023, when I would finally meet Randeep Hooda, not much would’ve changed. Of course, he was now a more established and successful actor, but at his core, Randeep stayed the course like a horse with blinkers on. Perhaps drawing from his very passion for being an equestrian and hailing from Haryana where in his words, ‘people don’t back down’.

Dressed in casual black and white, making basic look cool and having just shot in the wilderness of Mumbai’s film city as Randeep Hooda sits down to chat with me after a long and strenuous day, I quickly see a lazy elegance surrounding the actor. He is relaxed, almost too relaxed one might think, but as attentive as ever. He is taking note of everything around him not to react, but simply to absorb - a tactic the actor revealed to have adopted in his life while growing up too.

His eyes are full of emotion and honesty, much like his characters on screen that emote as well and effortlessly as Randeep Hooda. Like an open book, as he begins to talk about his journey, his life, his roots and even his vices - we navigate through what really goes on behind the mind of Randeep Hooda and decode the paradox that he is - living in the public eye yet far away from the reach of paps and media.

Jacket: @thekooples, Tshirt: @superdry, Jeans: @gstarraw, Shoes: @thesource

People often make fan edits for you that end up calling you a ‘Sigma Male’ while highlighting the ‘Haryana attitude’ that they think you stand for. What is this ‘Haryanvi attitude’ that people love about you?

Haryana Attitude is one jahaan log darte nahi hai and apne aap main ek sense of pride hota hai that you hail from Haryana. The attitude is always like - dekhi jaayegi and that holds us in good stead in most things we do. 

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you felt like success was starting to get to your head?

I’ve been in the industry for 22 years now, and very early on I figured that these are momentary things. In fact, I believe that success and failure are more or less the same. I read somewhere ‘Don’t let success get to your head and let failure get to your heart’, so I have tried to always go by that. Besides, as soon as I have a project coming out I get busy doing other things. Most times I am not even watching my own film because god forbid I end up getting impressed by myself. 

I believe that the biggest trap for an artist is to get impressed by one’s own self and that can lead to a lot of mediocrity and repetition and putting one’s work into a zone which needs to otherwise be expanding.

Jacket: @superdry, Jeans: @gstarraw, Shoes: @thesource

Looking at you I can say that you come across as the perfect ambassador for India and Bharat. You’re so close to your roots, yet there is a modern mystique around you. 

Mere andar dono hai. My Nana was a gold medalist from Stephen’s College back in the day under the British regime and my Dada was illiterate hailing from a village. So I carry that balance from both sides and identify with both of them. One should learn everything and you need to learn to hold your own. 

India is also a part of our history as is Bharat and neither is more important than the other.

Looking at you, you come across as a very ‘Whiskey, single malt and cigar’ kind of a man. Are you?

I’ve been through all of those phases, now I drink tequila. Humne sab - daaru, rum, whiskey sab karke deh liya and beer is my favourite but it’s getting more and more difficult to drink beer. You feel too full and not high enough.

Jacket: @thekooples, Tshirt: @superdry, Jeans: @gstarraw, Shoes: @thesource

You don’t get papped too often. Why?

Main do-teen baar daant chuka hun unko, so I guess I have scared them off. It takes a particular machinery to get papped and I like to keep them at an arm’s length. I feel like you get strength from being unnoticed and if you blend into people otherwise get very conscious around you. 

I feel like ek artist ke personal life ke baare main logon ko zaada pata nahi hona chahiye, else people start viewing him as a character. But maybe the world has changed. Ab khane peene se leke haggne tak ke videos bana bana ke social media pe daalne ka zamaana aagaya hai.

People are quick to typecast people. What is that one stereotype that stands absolutely untrue for people of Haryana like yourself?

We’re like a walnut - hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Since we’re kids, we've been told that ‘mard ko dard nahi hota’. And because our parents hide their emotions from us, their parents hide their emotions from our parents, it goes on. But there is nothing wrong with being sensitive. 

For me, an alpha male is unafraid, who takes chances and who takes care of people around him.

Jacket: @superdry, Jeans: @gstarraw, Shoes: @thesource

We assume you’re unmarried. Have you ever felt pressured by your parents to get married?

My mother has often pressured me, but they also felt that coming from a middle-class family - we value job security a lot. And that, I didn't have because I would be so picky with my roles. And I would choose to the extent of my work and filmography becoming niche. 

Also, I have never believed in ancillary income because I am so involved in my personal life which means spending time with my horses and my vices. So maybe my parents never pressured me too much because they thought that I am not financially independent or equipped to take up the responsibility of marriage.

Credits
Head Of Editorial Content: Dattaraj Thaly
Story By: Sadhika Sehgal
Director: Vishakha Kaushik
Photographer: Meetesh Anejai
Stylist: Edward Lalrempuia
Assistant Stylist: Asu Lkr, Saumya Narang and Yuthika
Producer: Vinod Kumar
Hair & Makeup: Renuka & Pankaj
Video Editor: Rahul Rawat & Lovish Sethi
Visual Designer: Disha Bhatia
Social Media Head: Aanchal Grover