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I remember, in 2009, I had said in an interview, 'who knows I might work with Jackie Chan one day.' Seven years later I actually did.
I think fitness and doing gym should be like brushing teeth everyday in the morning as it should come automatically without any excuse.
Taking off my shirt has become a part of my life, whether it is at award ceremonies or reality shows. As long as people enjoy it, why not?
In my eyes, Twitter is not just about posting pictures of the clothes you wear. It's about connection with people who reach out to you, too.
It is not easy to pull off your shirt, bare your torso and go beyond it. It needs a lot of conviction. You have to be comfortable in your skin.
I've worked with Farah Khan who is a competent woman director, and Farah and I had a great professional equation and we are still best of friends.
I'd go out with my family and my close ones, who have been by my side through the years, but I am not the one who will throw parties on his birthday.
I first came to Mumbai by train, without a reserved ticket. I stood by the door and slept in the space next to the washroom. I know what struggle is.
I have been waiting for a film like 'Maximum.' I have learnt so many things while shooting this film. The entire cast has been a pleasure to work with.
In films, you do a scene, and that is the end of it. On TV, the cameras capture your real self on a daily basis; it reaches out to viewers across India.
It's challenging to play a real-life character because you know that it existed in the history and you have certain parameters to follow and stay within.
It's like my career is divided in phases. There comes a phase when I only do Tollywood movies, back to back, and then there is a phase when I do only Hindi films.
My dad always wanted to be a soldier, but he couldn't be one. When I told him that I would be playing a soldier in J.P. Dutta's film 'Paltan,' he was very excited.
My mother always says that you are successful only when you are capable of helping somebody. So I feel whatever I could do I could do only with the blessings of my parents.
Working with Jackie Chan was one of the most phenomenal experiences. I won't say that he is the most grounded actor, but he is the most grounded human being I have ever seen.
During my college days, me and a bunch of close friends had formed a small band. We would perform during the college fest and other cultural functions and it used to be so much fun.
My mother was a professor and she would wake me up at 5:30 every morning. I've had that routine since I was a child. So it's not tough to wake up and face the camera at any time now.
I wish if I could have achieved more success in my life earlier when my mom could see that happen, she could have seen those movies, could see the success rate that happened after I lost her.
It wasn't easy at all for a qualified engineer to take the decision of giving it up, leave Punjab and try to make a name in films. But I really wanted to be an actor, hence I took the decision.
But Jackie Chan is that guy who would pick up glasses and bottles lying on the road or that guy who would help in picking up tents once the filming production is over. He doesn't act like a star.
Tanushree is a very nice girl and I worked with her once. She is very focussed, and I could see how hard-working she was, with dreams in her eyes. She was one of the well-behaved girls on the set.
When you are an outsider, no one is ready to meet you or listen to you. People have even said that there are thousands of Sonu Soods out there, and they don't have time to cater to each one of them.
Had I not got into acting and modeling, I would have been a part of the national cricket team. I'm a right-handed batsman and a pace bowler and have won lots of awards during my college and school days.
I am from a sports background, and always wanted to become either a cricketer or footballer; in short, just play some sport and represent my country. I got diverted, but the sportsman in me is still alive.
Frankly speaking, from day one, I've been offered solo leads, but I did not take up any of them. For me, it has to be the right script and the right director before I launch myself in Tollywood in a lead role.
First, you need to write the script, re-work on lots of things. First draft, second draft, once the final script is ready then you visualize which actors fits the role in that the particular script they've written.
My biggest regret is that there are only 24 hours in a day. I wish there was at least a few more hours. Each hour of me being awake means I can help a few more migrants who are stranded and are desperate to reach home.
I don't think there is anyone who hasn't heard about Dawood Ibrahim or seen his pictures. It was very important for me, not to just get the look right, but also to learn the way he smoked, the command he had over people, etc.
Four places in the country hold great importance in my life - Punjab, where I was born, Nagpur, where I did my engineering and where my wife is from, Bombay where I work and obviously, Hyderabad, where I learnt the craft of cinema.
I can never take a break from Telugu films, because they have given me a lot of recognition. No matter how busy I am or the number of films that I do elsewhere, I always keep my schedule free for at least two to three films in Telugu.
In 'Paltan,' I play a braveheart, Major Bishwant Singh, who was feared by the Chinese. They called him Tiger Nathu La. I feel blessed to have got an opportunity to play a real-life hero and bring to screen an untold story of our history.
I started with the job of sending migrants back home the day lockdown started, and I will not end this task till the last migrant reaches home. We are working day and night to reach out to everyone so that all of them can reunite with their families.
Playing Arjuna was one of the most special experience because as kids we have seen 'Mahabarata,' we have read about Arjuna, and one day you get a chance to play that role in the profession that you love the most that one of the most special one of my life.
Come to think of it, some of the most special films in my career were 'City Of Life' and 'Happy New Year.' For both these films, I stayed over a month in Dubai and just when I was thinking that I need one more film like that, that's when 'Kung Fu Yoga' happened.
I feel it is my duty to help the migrants, the heartbeats of our country. We have seen migrants walking on the highways with their families and kids. We just can't sit in the AC and tweet and show our concern till we don't go on the roads, till we don't become one of them.
One needs to follow strict discipline in the life to streamline it, so it's not whether you are in this industry/profession of an actor or an engineer or whatever you are doing it, but I think when you respect your body, when you take care of your body, I think everything falls in place.
I went all out to help these migrants because I was a migrant, too, who came to Mumbai with a lot of dreams. When I saw photographs of their sufferings and read heart-wrenching stories of how they are walking thousands of kilometers without food and water, it reminded me of my early days.
I don't really have to switch on and switch off because I enjoy the process of enacting a role on the sets, all those mad hours of shoot and then heading home after work. I don't divide it like normal and abnormal life. For me, the entire process of doing my work and heading home is normal.
My day goes by coordinating things like transport for migrant workers, taking government permissions, organizing food among other things. And I feel very happy and satisfied. If I was shooting, I wouldn't have had all the time in the world. Now, that I have all the time, it is important to give that to the needy.
I used to live in a hostel with Bihari roommates. They used to be very excited about getting their pictures clicked, and since there weren't any mobile phones back then, they used to have a photographer accompany them everywhere. Thus, my character's personality and the photographer were incorporated into 'Dabangg.'