Varun Sood on how his father reacted on gaining weight for 'Call Me Bae': "Lean down boss you’ve ...."

In a recent, exclusive conversation with India Forums, actor Varun Sood shared gave insights into his professional life, his career path, the projects he is choosing, how things have been for him and much more. So lets dive into the conversation and check out about his journey. 

Q: Firstly, congratulations on your new release! The title "Naam Namak Nishaan" is quite interesting. It almost feels like a tongue-twister. Could you share something about this title?

Varun Sood: I think the emotion of the show is captured in the title itself. Every Indian Army aspirant hopes to serve their country one day. "Naam Namak Nishaan" represents the country’s name, the loyalty to its people, and leaving a mark. The title itself carries a lot of emotion.

Q: The story you've shared is quite interesting. I'd like to know more about how Varun Sood came on board.

Varun Sood: Like any other project, I had to go through auditions. When I auditioned, I was really hoping it would work out because it’s been a dream of mine to be a part of the army. After that, I got a call for another audition, and I thought, "Okay, this is a step forward." Then, I had a screen test, and they said, "You're on board." That feeling gave me butterflies in my stomach. The first person I told was my dad. I called him and said, "Dad, I’m doing a show about the Officers Training Academy, and I hope they do a good job." He said, "I'm sure they’ll do a good job." Every time I wore the uniform and was in that environment, it felt like the 19-year-old Varun was living his dream.

Q: As you mentioned, Varun, you felt butterflies in your stomach. This question is quite personal. Despite having done films with Dharma Productions, many projects, and reality shows, how do you keep yourself so grounded that even a new project still brings you so much excitement and anticipation?

Varun Sood: I think that excitement will stay with me for life because when I first entered the industry, I had no idea what I was doing. I was happy doing shows on MTV, and I never thought I would get this far. Even today, I remember what I felt on day one in the industry. That feeling is still there, and it’s a good thing because it keeps me excited and motivated to move forward.

Q: If I'm not wrong, you come from a family where your dad has been in the army. Of course, this project is very special for you. But growing up, you must have heard many stories from your dad. What is one story that helped you during the shooting of "Naam Namak Nishaan"?

Varun Sood: First, I would like to say that "Naam Namak Nishaan" is one of the most physically demanding shows I've done. The life of a cadet is very tough, and we had to show it exactly as it is. My dad once told me that as a punishment, he had to roll on the road during the cold weather. I asked him how tough it must have been, and he said, "Not just for an hour or two, but continuously." His back would get scraped, but when you wake up the next morning, you realize that one day, you will serve the country. That’s what kept us going because we had no choice; we had to do it because our country needed us. During the shoot, even though I wasn’t a real cadet, being surrounded by real cadets made me push through because at least I got to be a part of this in some way.

Q: You trained with real cadets. If I’m not wrong, you’re also a sports player, which means you’ve always been concerned about your physical fitness. Did you face any challenges or need to do anything special for this role, like changing your diet?

Varun Sood: Before this, I was shooting for "Call Me Bae," where my look was quite different. I was a big guy. When I visited my dad in Delhi, I told him I was going to do this show in the next 15-20 days. The first thing he said was, "Lean down, boss, you’ve gained too much weight." I went back to my national camp training, had a coach on board who trained me to become more athletic. I did everything, and I thought I was decently fit to be a cadet. But when I started doing the drills, it was really tough. I thought, "How do these people do it every day?" But overall, it was a lot of fun.

Watch the full interview HERE

Q: Everyone knows about your journey, how it started with reality shows, and now you’re moving ahead in life. I want to know if there was a phase in your life where you felt like quitting, or when you felt stereotyped as someone only made for reality shows. How did you overcome that moment?

Varun Sood: I think when I was a judge on "Roadies Real Heroes," I felt like I needed to do something else in life because everyone knew me only for one thing. I wanted people to know me for different things. When I decided to leave reality shows, I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I was genuinely inclined towards acting because I had taken workshops before and wanted to get better at it. So I thought, "Let’s try, keep working on it, and hope that something else happens in the future." When nothing happened for two years, I started feeling like maybe I’m not cut out for this.

Q. And then, when a Dharma film came along, how did that feel?

Varun Sood: When I got the call for my first proper big break in the fiction industry, it felt like all the bad comments and the wait were worth it. Because after this, my life was going to change. It didn’t really matter to me anymore.

Q: Did you ever feel like you should respond to those who doubted you?

Varun Sood: Actually, no. I felt like they were right because I didn’t have much going on at that time. But now that I have something, I don’t want to rub it in anyone’s face. I’m just grateful that I have it.

Q: Times have certainly changed, especially with social media. The entertainment industry has evolved in such a way that today, influencers often start with social media, then move on to reality shows, and eventually gain fame. Do you think influencers really guide the youth in the right direction?

Varun Sood: I think there are many people who do. I follow quite a few who do. But there are also people who get caught up in the fights and drama of reality shows and then bring that into the real world. This creates a culture of hate, and I don’t understand it. If you have the power to spread something, don’t spread violence. Spread something nice about your life, something that inspires others to become better people. This fight culture, this hate culture, is something I never understand.

Varun Sood is all set for his next project 'Call Me Bae' wherein he will share screen space with Ananya Panday and the show will stream on Amazon Prime Video from 6th September.