Randeep Hooda shared how his unproduced film Battle of Saragarhi deeply affected him on a personal and spiritual level, during a candid session at Sahitya Aaj Tak in New Delhi.
He described the process not just as acting, “It wasn’t just a role, it became a transformation.” For his research, Hooda visited the Golden Temple and its museum, saying, “Reading those stories, seeing those sacrifices – I became emotional. The bravery of Sikh soldiers stayed with me.”
In a symbolic commitment, he vowed not to cut his hair until the film was completed a promise he kept for nearly three years. “When I finally had to cut my hair for Extraction, I didn’t want to,” he admitted. “I went to the gurudwara and apologised. I told myself I had tried everything.”
During that time, his dedication extended beyond acting. He began working with Global Six, a volunteer-led organisation, traveling across disaster-hit and underserved regions from Kerala and Maharashtra to Punjab, Kashmir, and Haryana. Hooda emphasized the value of meaningful help: “Helping means showing up, or contributing in whatever way you genuinely can.”
Although Battle of Saragarhi never materialised, Hooda says the entire journey instilled in him the Sikh principle of seva (selfless service). He added, “I was just a medium. The real work was done by the volunteers.”
He also reflected on the uphill path of his career from studying abroad to theatre under Naseeruddin Shah and how he always carried the burden of proving himself. “When I finally told my parents I wanted to become an actor, they only said, ‘Just don’t become a burden on us in our old age’. Since then, I’ve tried to stand on my own,” he said, with a laugh.
The post Randeep Hooda admits Battle of Saragarhi changed him forever even without releasing: “It wasn’t just a role, it became a transformation” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
Source link
