Sonu Sood Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Sonu Sood is an Indian actor, model, and producer who has predominantly worked in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. The actor is also known for his humanitarian work.

Wiki/Biography

Sonu Sood was born on Monday, 30 July 1973 (age 50 years; as of 2023) in Moga, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Leo.

He did his schooling at Moga’s Sacred Heart School.

After completing his tenth standard, Sonu briefly worked at his father’s showroom in Moga, where he learnt to identify different fabrics and also learned how to sell them. Thereafter, he went to Nagpur and got himself enrolled in the Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering to pursue Electronic Engineering. Sood was good at academics in his school and college days. While he was in the second year of his college, his friends encouraged him to pursue modelling and acting.

After completing his graduation, Sood went to Mumbai and started taking modelling assignments.

During his initial years in Mumbai, Sood did a job in a private firm in South Mumbai to support his day-to-day expenses. Before becoming an actor, he also contested in the Grasim Mr. India contest and reached the top 5.

Physical Appearance

Height : 6′ ¾”

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Family & Caste

Sonu Sood belongs to a Hindu Family.

Parents & Siblings

His father, Shakti Sagar Sood was an entrepreneur. His mother, Saroj Sood was a teacher. He has an elder sister, Monika Sood (Scientist), and a younger sister, Malvika Sachar.

On 10 January 2022, his younger sister, Malvika Sachar, came into active politics after she joined the Indian National Congress in the presence of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Navjot Singh Sidhu.

Wife & Children

Sonu Sood is married to Sonali Sood. The couple has two sons, Ayaan Sood and Eshaan Sood.

Career

Sonu Sood started his acting career in 1999 with the Tamil film, “Kallazhagar” in which he played the role of ‘Soumya Narayanan.’ Next, he played an antagonist in the Telugu film “Hands Up!.” He made his Bollywood debut in 2002 with the Bollywood film, “Shaheed-E-Azam” in which he played the role of ‘Bhagat Singh.’ He came into the spotlight after playing the role of Abhishek Bachchan‘s brother in the Bollywood film, “Yuva.”

In 2005, he starred in the Telugu film, “Super” and gained huge popularity. Subsequently, he appeared in many Telugu films, like “Athadu,” “Ashok,” “Arundhati,” “Ek Niranjan,” and “Shakti.”

Some of his popular Bollywood films include “Aashiq Banaya Aapne,” “Dabangg,” “Happy New Year,” “Gabbar Is Back,” and “Simmba.”

Sood made his English film debut in 2017 with the film, “Rockin’ Meera.” He has also featured in the Chinese film, “Xuanzang.”

Controversies

Fraud Allegations 

In 2013, a fraud case was filed against Sonu Sood by the film producer Sheetal Talwar for renting out a property to him on the Yari Road by saying that the land was free from any legal dispute when it was not.

Stepping out of Manikarnika

Sonu again made headlines when he stepped out of the film “Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi.” Kangana Ranaut alleged that Sood had backed out from the movie as he was not ready to shoot under a female director. However, Sonu cleared that the issue was not the gender of the director but competence. He released an official statement, saying,

Kangana is a dear friend and she will always remain one but this constant playing the woman card, the victim card and making this entire issue about male chauvinism is ridiculous. The gender of the director is not the issue. Competence is. Let’s not confuse the two. I’ve worked with Farah Khan who’s a competent woman director and Farah and I had a great professional equation and we are still best of friends. That’s all I would like to say.”

Converting a Residential Building into a Hotel

In January 2021, a complaint was filed by BMC (Mumbai’s civic body) against the actor for converting a six-story building into a hotel in Juhu, Mumbai. Reportedly, Sonu Sood used this building for quarantine facilities for medical professionals during the initial days of the coronavirus lockdown in the country.

Income Tax Raids and Tax Evasion

On 16 September 2021, the Income Tax Department raided multiple premises related to the actor including Mumbai, Nagpur, and Jaipur. According to officials, a real estate deal and some other financial transactions related to the actor were under the scanner of the Department. A few days later, the actor was accused of evading Rs. 20 crore by the Central Board of Taxes. According to the Income Tax Department, which raided Sood and a Lucknow-based infrastructure group, the actor routed his “unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans from many bogus entities.” It was also found that he violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) while raising donations from abroad. The tax officials quoted that the charity foundation of the actor, which was founded in July 2020, raised Rs. 18.94 crore in donations from April 2021 till September 2021; however, only Rs. 1.7 crore was spent on relief work. On 20 September 2021, Sonu Sood released a statement on social media that read –

You don’t always have to tell your side of the story, time will. I have pledged myself to the service of the people of India with all my strength and heart. Every rupee in my foundation is awaiting its turn to save a precious life and reach the needy. In addition on many occasions, I have encouraged brands to donate my endorsement fees for humanitarian causes too, which keeps us going. I have been busy attending to a few guests, hence was unable to be at your service for the past few days. Here I am back again, in all humility, at your humble service for life. My journey continues.”

“सख्त राहों में भी आसान सफर लगता है,
हर हिंदुस्तानी की दुआओं का असर लगता है” 💕 pic.twitter.com/0HRhnpf0sY

— sonu sood (@SonuSood) September 20, 2021

Car Collection

Sonu Sood owns a Porsche and an Audi Q7.

Favourites

Facts/Trivia

• His hobbies include playing the guitar, doing workout, and kick-boxing.

• Sood landed in Mumbai for the first time with just Rs. 5500 in his pocket. He thought that the amount would last him for a month, but it got over in just eight to ten days.

• In his initial days in Mumbai, Sonu shared a one room-kitchen apartment with six other boys in the suburbs of Mumbai.

• His first salary was Rs. 4500 a month, which he received from a private job in South Mumbai.

• Sood’s first job involved a lot of field work, so, he used to travel by train and got a monthly train pass made from Borivali to Churchgate.

  Sonu Sood’s monthly train pass

• Sood earned Rs. 500 from his first modelling assignment, and he used that money to buy himself a pair of jeans.

• According to Sonu Sood, he was among many aspiring actors who gave auditions for the Bollywood film Josh (2000); however, he failed to clear the audition. In an interview, he revealed that he later purchased the building in Juhu, Mumbai, where Venus Films had their office; Venus Films produced Josh.

• Sonu has worked in the films of different languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Punjabi, English, and Chinese.

• Sonu Sood was once mistaken to be the brother of the actress, Asmita Sood, due to their common surnames.

• Sonu was supposed to act in the Hindi and Telugu remake of the film, “Zanjeer,” but he couldn’t work on it because of his injury.

• Sonu disclosed in an interview that although he was very spiritual in nature, he had stopped praying to God for around 4 years after his mother died.

• He is a fitness enthusiast and visits the gym regularly.

  Sonu Sood inside the gym

• During the shoot of his English film, “Kung Fu Yoga,” Sood became friends with Jackie Chan.

  Sonu Sood with Jackie Chan

• Sood owns a production house, “Shakti Sagar Productions.”

• Sood has featured on the covers of various magazines, including “You & I,” “Health & Nutrition,” “Just Urbane,” and “Krunch Today.”

  Sonu Sood on the cover of the Just Urbane Magazine

• Reportedly, Sonu earned Rs. 500 from his first modelling assignment. He used that money to buy a pair of jeans for himself.

• Once while Sood was travelling with his friend, Ajay Dhama, his Audi Q7 caught fire on the Western Express Highway in Bandra. Luckily, the duo escaped any injuries.

• Sood has a deep faith in Lord Ganesha.

  Sonu Sood praying to Lord Ganesha

• He is an avid animal lover, and has a pet dog, Snowy.

  Sonu Sood with his pet dog

• In 2020, Sonu actively helped migrant workers in Mumbai to reach their homes during the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While talking about it in an interview, Sood said,
  

  It gave me sleepless nights when I saw visuals of people walking hundreds of kilometres to reach their villages.”

  Sonu Sood helping the migrant workers reach home

• On 30 July 2020, while sharing a throwback photo of himself from a photoshoot in 1997 on Twitter, he wrote –
  

  And I dared to become an actor.”

  Sonu Sood in a photoshoot in 1997

• After he helped migrants to reach their hometown during the nationwide lockdown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Chelimi tanda under Dubba constructed a temple dedicated to Sonu Sood. Reportedly, it cost about Rs. 1. 7 lakh to construct the temple.

  Sonu Sood Temple in Telangana

• In September 2022, Sonu Sood started a program to provide free online coaching to IAS aspirants. The actor named this program ‘Sambhavam 2022-23,’ which was started with the help of the Divine India Youth Association (DIYA).

  Sonu Sood launched a free online coaching program for IAS aspirants in September 2022

• In August 2023, he received a remarkable tribute from Team Indian Creative Unity, who presented him with a stunning pop art masterpiece. This expansive artwork covered an astonishing canvas area of 1.17 lakh square feet in Ajitwal, Moga, Punjab. The creation beautifully encapsulates both his cinematic evolution and his contributions to humanitarian endeavors.