Sonu Sood: On my birthday, I want 1000 free beds in hospitals, more scholarships for students

Sonu Sood is not big on birthdays, but nothing can stop his fans from making it special for him. Another temple is being constructed for the actor in Andhra Pradesh, and he feels humbled by it.

“This is a huge thing, and I’m humbled to see the love being showered by them. The movement I started, helping people, it doesn’t focus on one village or state, it’s pan India. I want to continue to making it bigger,” he tells us, adding that on his birthday, he’ll start a new initiative. “My idea is I want to make education free of cost for everyone in this country in the coming years,” he says.

Turning 48 today, Sood emerged as a messiah figure in 2020, when he came forward to help migrants who were walking back to their home towns during the lockdown, by arranging transport for them. He also helped people through social media. Cut to 2021, and he says things have become bigger, and frequency of calls has increased from people who’re in need. And therefore, this is how his birthday will be spent.

“I’m getting calls from different states. There are seven-eight people walking, some are on bicycles, some on bikes, who’re coming all the way to Mumbai on my birthday. Reaching out to people takes a lot of time, getting connected and then drawing an infrastructure which will help them. It’s a big challenge. I’ll make sure it happens no matter how much time it takes,” says Sood, sharing his birthday wish for this year,which is, “To have at least 1000-1500 free beds in hospitals, and ten times more scholarships for students by my next birthday.”

The actor reveals the reason he doesn’t believe in opting for big celebrations, though he admits that he used to be quite the opposite before.

“Then somehow I got busy. Lately, I feel very shy. There were times when for two-three years when I’d choose to be on a flight on my birthday. I feel a little embarrassed. I miss my parents more, I wish they were around. Someone who brought me into this world, they’re not there so I don’t feel like celebrating my birthdays. But I’m obviously there for my family,” he concludes.