His Hotness, Randeep Hooda talks fashion, food and festive fervour with Shubarna Mukerji Shu!
I don’t think you can call me religious but I am tolerant of everyone’s beliefs. I respect our traditions. If I am reminded to light the diyas at home, I will. If someone gives me a kurta-pajama to wear on Diwali, I will wear it. I have no issues, but I don’t think I will go out of my way to do something. As it is, where will you wear a kurta-pajama and go?”
“Frankly, I know the city comes alive with festivities, but I don’t think I pay too much attention to it. I mostly spend my Diwalis in Faridabad with my family but even then, I participate only as much as I have been asked to. I am not someone who gives opinions for effect. Sometimes my mom and sister want my opinion on what they are wearing and stuff, I normally just smile and say they are looking cute, unless it is really bad – then I tell them. Baaki kya hai, festivals are mostly about just eating right, you give me the gulaab jamuns and I am a happy man!
“As for me, I am fuss-free. I think it is good for every person and even an actor to let go of things from time to time. Too much pruning isn’t required. I don’t think I can be one of those metro-sexual men too engrossed with things, and that’s purely my limitation. I would much rather wear well-fitting, clean clothes and generally maintain hygiene, that’s as far as I would go to get the right look.
“The thing I do believe in is that no Allah made Islam, no Christ made Christianity… what’s documented by people, is to ensure a certain number of them get some power over society, that’s all.
“Personally, I am not even superstitious. That doesn’t mean I don’t notice that black cat crossing my path, but I choose to ignore it. The thought of ‘Kya ab kaam nahi hoga?’ crosses my mind but I don’t do anything about it.
“I play Raja Ravi Verma in ‘Rang Rasiya’, the man who gave the goddesses that we preach in our houses and temples a face. The human face that we relate our goddesses with was all his imagination and to think his muse, his inspiration, was what society calls a ‘fallen’ woman! What is awesome is how much this man was a painter at heart, but the way he upheld Indian culture, how dear it was to him, that makes him really impressive.
“I am moldable, I have few ideas perhaps but a convincing argument leaves me thinking almost always. So I remember I was participating in something for an American-Canadian event, and Salman Khan happened to be there, and he said that it is not something we Indians do, it is not our culture. And that had me thinking… in my own way I try to hold onto these roots.
