Sonu Sood admits South filmmakers tapped his true potential, reveals rejecting 'best of Bollywood' for regional cinema

Actor-filmmaker Sonu Sood opens up about leaving Bollywood projects for South and how regional filmmakers tapped his true potential. 

Today we live in the age of pan-India films, with actors working across languages and creating a wide market for themselves. However, in 2000, when the term wasn't even coined, Sonu Sood took the leap of faith and decided to try his luck in south films. When Bollywood makers failed to analyse Sonu's potential, south filmmakers gave him a chance to test his acting skills. 

Sonu was seen in Rajinikanth's Chandramukhi, playing a mute but strong bodyguard who fights toe-to-toe with the south superstar. Later, he even played the main antogonist, a lustful, ruthless tantric in Anushka Shetty's historic blockbuster Arundhati. 

After starring in several films, he has now become a writer-producer-director with his upcoming action thriller Fateh. While promoting his actioner with DNA India, Sonu admits that he enjoyed working in the south. "The kind of work I did in south cinema, the range of roles that I portrayed is very satisfying as an actor. I'm glad that I went south. I loved the craft of South and worked with the best of the best. South has been my learning ground." 

Watch the trailer of Fateh

Sonu also reveals that when he decided to venture out, people advised him not to leave Bollywood. The Singh is Kinng actor further reveals that he has rejected Bollywood offers for the south. "Puchte the bahut log ki tujhe Bollywood ke offers aate hai, tu South ka karta hai. But for me it was not about the language, it's about where you find the happy space and South was something that was getting the best for me. Because I was working down South, I had the guts to say no to best of Bollywood saying, 'main karunga toh acha karunga, warna nahi karunga'." Sonu Sood's Fateh will be released in cinemas on January 10, 2025.