Sonu Sood: “This Birthday I Feel  Different”

Birthday Boy Sonu Sood—who turns  48 today but looks no more than 30—has a lot to be proud  of.

When  I call him to wish him  for his birthday  Sonu Sood agrees with  me.  “You’re right. 

This year has been…how  do I put it?…life-changin… I  don’t think I’ve felt so  special in  any of my birthdays  so  far. The past year when I had the opportunity to  help so many people  transformed  my life forever. I feel  I am born-again this  birthday.”

There  are  as many people outside Sonu Sood’s  home in Mumbai  waiting for  a  glimpse of  their idol as  there are  at Shah Rukh Khan’s residence on his birthday.

Sonu Sood responds with gratitude. “It’s all God’s blessings,  Sir. People are  waiting since  early morning to meet me on this my special day. Many of them  have come from far-away places with hope  in their eyes . They are coming even as we  talk . It is not possible for me  to meet them all through the day. So  I will go out once  or maybe twice and a cut a cake with them. I don’t want  any of them to return  disappointed.”

How does Sonu look back on the past year? “As a  blessing, a gift from God. A chance to give back to people the love they’ve given me. My parents  are  not with me on this special day. But I  can feel their hand over my head.  Whatever  good deeds I’ve  done  is a result of  the  values my parents  inculcated  in me.”

Sonu Sood has not  forgotten  the good deed of  the day .  “Today we are  inaugurating an  oxygen plant  in a  hospital  in Mangalore. I  wish I could be  in Mangalore for this.  But there are so many visitors  here  in  Mumbai  for my birthday. They would be  sorely  disappointed if I  was not at  home.”

His birthday wish? “To continue  working for the needy. Also  to see more people  coming forward  to  do the same  and  less people passing snide comments  on social media about people trying to make this world a  better  place.”