Spotlight: Randeep Hooda

He debuted with perhaps one of the most unique roles of all time. Leading him into the world of cinema was one of the most remarkable makers Indian cinema has seen till date, Mira Nair. Randeep Hooda certainly made heads turn with his charming looks and enticing Australian accent in Mira Nair's 2001 release Monsoon Wedding. Little did Bollywood audiences know that this boyish face would soon be dominating channels for various reasons, be it his off-screen relationships or controversies with filmmakers. Randeep Hooda faced it all and took everything in his stride.

Born in Haryana to a politician mother and a surgeon father, Randeep Hooda chased his career expecting it to end somewhere in the world of business. Fate, however, had other plans. After studying in Melbourne, Australia and receiving his Bachelors degree in Marketing and Human Resources, Randeep returned home to India to face the truth of his dreams. He had always wanted to be an actor, and it was about time he chased that dream.

His Australian accent made him the ideal for the role of Rahul Chadha in Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding in which he played an NRI from Australia. Anyone who was quick to judge after Monsoon Wedding probably expected to see this handsome face back on screen perhaps with another big international project, or something along the same lines. However, Randeep surprised all and went right down to his roots and reappeared on screen as Ajay Doshi in Ram Gopal Verma's D which tackled RGV's favorite genre of the underworld. Soon after, Randeep was seen again in a Ramu project named Darna Zaroori Hai, and he revisited the underworld genre with the 2007 release Risk.

His fans were greatly disappointed when they had to wait four years after Monsoon Wedding to see Randeep back on screen, but the dedicated actor had disappeared for a very valid reason. Upon watching Monsoon Wedding, Randeep decided that he had a long way to go before he could truly call himself an actor, and so four years were spent under the watchful eyes of Naseerudin Shah (incidentally his costar from Monsoon Wedding) who helped him learn more about his craft.

The next big thing in Randeep's life was acquiring the international project Karma, Confessions and Holi which had its fair share of limelight even before the release much thanks to its impressive cast. It consists of many acclaimed international artists including Naomi Campbell and of course Randeep and Sushmita Sen, who at the time were the most hot and happening jodi in town. Unfortunately the movie, despite having very promising promos, is yet to hit cinemas and hopefully does sometime this century!

Rumors to this much hyped relationship slowly died down. Randeep was never affected by anything the media wrote as he refers to himself as having thick skin when it comes to the media. In other words, all other journalists reading this, write all you want but no one is about to grab his attention with lousy link-ups anytime soon! The actor is firmly set in his place with his eyes on the goal, and controversies and competition coming his way are just like passing trees on a journey. He lives by the quote "slow to rise, slow to fall" and we're sure this will be very true in Randeep's case. However, regardless of the fact that the outside world has a very limited effect on Randeep, he still strongly holds belief in the box office as he regards it as a measure of how far his movies reach. And let's just say that this actor's boundaries are like none others. Randeep wants his movies to reach other planets! Well, with his talent and looks, combined with the variety of promising projects in his bag, he is surely prepared to travel down that path!

In terms of the variety of projects, Randeep has a lot to unveil to his audiences in the coming months. Firstly, there is Ru Ba Ru which released on Friday the 12th and is an enchanting love story, starring Randeep and the new found talent Shahana Goswami. Randeep plays a man who takes everything for granted in life including his love, only to have been delivered a rude awakening. After Ru Ba Ru, Randeep will be seen in Love Khichidi which stars numerous beautiful leading ladies. The movie revolves around the difference in one's perception of love and what it actually is. Randeep sees it as being one of the most honest movies of recent times and claims it to also be one of the most entertaining releases of his career.

Further down the list is another international project titled Rang Rasiya which will be releasing in English with the title Colors of Passions. This release promises to be the bio pic of the life of Raja Ravi Verma, the legendry painter. In addition, Randeep is said to have played 18 characters for another project titled Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye. Girls, if you thought you didn't get enough of him, wait till you see this one! Last but not the least, there is the most awaited superhero movie which is meant to be the head turner in Randeep's career. Randeep calls it a humanized superhero film. But it's not as sweet as Krissh, he claims. So there you go! The actor is really ready to kick up a storm in Indian cinema! And who knows where else he'll go with his international projects!

Well for now we know the talent, we know the brains that work the talent and we know the beautiful face that graces it. All we can do now is wait for everything to unveil! He's over five years old in the industry and he's still only getting started. In the words of Shahrukh Khan "picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!"