Randeep Hooda- A Versatile and Underrated Actor- Career, Salary, Wife, and Controversies- Wiki Bio

Updated October 11, 2022

Randeep Hooda is an Indian Actor and Horse Rider. He is one of the most versatile and underrated actors in India. His many honors include two Stardust Awards, two Filmfare Award nominations, and one International Indian Film Academy Award nomination.

With Monsoon Wedding, directed by Mira Nair, Hooda made his Hindi film debut (2001). But he received little attention, and he later starred in a number of critically and financially failed films, such as D (2005) and Karma Aur Holi (2009).

In addition to his work in movies, Hooda has appeared in a number of theatre productions. His adaptation of Lee Blessing’s novel A Walk in the Woods marked his playwriting debut.

Childhood and Early Life of Randeep Hooda

Randeep Hooda was born on August 20, 1976, into an Indian jat family. His father, Dr. Ranbir Hooda is a medical surgeon and his mother, Asha Devi Hooda is a social worker. His parents traveled widely and lived primarily in the Middle East throughout his early years due to their transferable jobs. So, he spent the majority of his time with his grandmother.

He has a younger brother named Sandeep Hooda who works as a software engineer in Singapore and an older sister named Anjali Hooda Sangwan who is a medical (MBBS, MD) doctor with training in both India and the United States.

He completed his elementary education, at Motilal Nehru School of Sports (MNSS). In his school days, Hooda used to participate in every function or event. Once he participated in swimming and equestrian and won gold medals at the national level.

His interest in acting was developed, during his school days. He said in an interview with Rediff.com that he loved to appear in front of people. However, his family had a different plan, they wanted him to become a doctor. That’s why he was sent to Delhi Public School, in Delhi.

In the interview, Hooda talked about how it was difficult for him to move from an environment in which he was popular to one in which he was known as “difficult”. Post schooling, he moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1995.

He studied for a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in business management and human resource management. Hooda returned to India in 2000 and started working in the marketing department of an airline.

Later, he joined the theatre in Delhi, director Mira Nair approached him for his upcoming movie after watching his rehearsal for the play “To Teach His Own”.

Acting Career of Randeep Hooda

Apart from the films he was doing, he gained a lot of popularity because of his relationship with Sushmita Sen. After moving to Mumbai, he shot his first TV ad for which he was paid Rs 1500. Hooda made his debut with the film “Monsoon Wedding” directed by Mira Nair.

After his debut film, Hooda went through a drought phase for 4 years. During this time, he used to work in theatre and television commercials for supporting himself financially. Before he got an actual breakthrough in the film industry, he worked in many flop films.

He worked in many movies including ‘D’ (2005), ‘Darna Zaroori Hai’ (2006), ‘Risk’ (2007), ‘Ru Ba Ru’ (2008) etc. The turning point of Hooda’s career came in 2010 after working in the film Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai directed by Milan Luthria. He played the role of a police officer in the film.

Hooda performed a gay kissing scene in the 2013 Hindi films “John Day” and “Bombay Talkies”. He then worked in some successful movies at the box office like Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster (2011), Janat 2 (2012), Highway (2014), Kick (2014), etc.

Hooda went through a shocking transformation for the film ‘Sarbjit’ in 2016. He lost almost 18 Kg in just 1 month. When a reporter asked him if he felt overshadowed by the inclusion of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the film. In response, Hooda said the reporter to shut up.

He was the first famous person to be chosen as the Mumbai Fire Brigade’s brand ambassador in 2016. Hooda revealed on March 28, 2022, that he would play Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, an Indian freedom warrior, in the Hindi film “SwatantraVeer Savarkar”.

Controversies of Randeep Hooda

In 2017, he was criticized for mocking the Indian student activist Gurmehar Kaur. She was an Indian Army martyr’s daughter, tweeted a photo of herself on her Twitter account on April 25, 2017, with the caption, “Pakistan didn’t kill my father, the war did.”

Later, Virender Sehwag, a former Indian cricketer, made fun of her and uploaded a photo of himself holding a banner saying, “I did not score two triple centuries. It was my bat. Randeep Hooda praised the Sehwag video that got negative feedback from Indian celebs and internet users.

Given that Gurmehar had already received rape threats as a result of posting anything critical of the ABVP, Virender Sehwag and Randeep came in for extra criticism. Randeep discussed it in an interview and stated,

“I was not aware of any threats to her. When I did become aware of it, I issued a statement clarifying my stand. And violence is wrong. If it is against a woman, it’s a heinous crime and perpetrators should be brought to justice and severe punishment should be given so that it sets an example. I don’t think that has happened. I don’t know what the authorities are doing. But by that time the narrative was set. I was labelled, put in a box. So, it seems to me we are not having a conversation”.

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