'I don't like to go to parties'

Reclusive man

Randeep Hooda may be enjoying a career high but like any other family, all his mother wants to see is her famous son getting hitched.

The 37-year-old actor, who dated a string of women including Sushmita Sen and Neetu Chandra in the past, is currently single and has no plans to marry any time soon. “My mom often tells me to get married but she gets it now that I don’t want to. Like any other mom she is worried but she also understands the demands of my profession. I am blessed to have a family like this,” says Randeep.

The Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster star considers his family as his biggest critic and counts on them from time to time. “My family is my biggest critic. Since they come from a non-filmi background they give me an audience’s point of view. They have been very supportive of me,” he says. Randeep started his career with ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and later went on to do films like Darna Zaroori Hai, ‘Risk’, Rang Rasiya and Love Khichdi which did not garner him much success at box office.

It was Ajay Devgan starrer ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’, which brought him back into the limelight. Randeep followed it up with successful films like Jannat 2, ‘Murder 3’ and ‘Bombay Talkies’. He is currently promoting his new movie ‘John Day’ with Naseeruddin Shah, Vipin Sharma and Shernaz Patel.

About the movie, he says, “It is a thriller and I play a guy who just hates the world, doesn’t believe in God. While Naseer sahab plays the exact opposite. He is a believer in God, a non-corrupt man. The story unfolds when our paths cross.”

Randeep is teaming up with Shah again after his debut film “Monsoon Wedding” and though he calls the veteran star his friend, he still remembers how he was scared of the veteran actor when they first met. “I agreed to do ‘John Day’ as soon as I realised Naseer sahab is in it.

He has been a great friend all these years. When I first met him, I was so scared of him. I forgot my lines when he was in the scene. But then we spoke over a cup of tea and became friends. He was kind enough to include me in his theatre group, let me direct, act in some of the plays,” shares Randeep.

Randeep’s reclusive nature has often been misunderstood as being arrogant but the actor says he is completely opposite to the popular perception. “I am trying to change myself. I live a very unbalanced life actually. If I am smoking, drinking, holidaying... I just do it too much. So if I am working I just do it too much and don’t have time to meet people. I am generally a quiet guy, who likes to keep to himself and this is often misunderstood as being snooty,” he says.

Randeep also thinks what matters is the work you do and not how many connections you have in Bollywood. “I think the biggest connection is work connection, everything else falls into place. I don’t like to go to parties... I am here for work and want to concentrate on that,” says Randeep.