Not the right time to jump into politics and leave my movie career: Randeep Hooda

Mumbai, March 13

Randeep Hooda says he hasn’t ruled out joining politics in future but wants to focus on his acting career for the time being. 

There were reports that the actor, who is awaiting the release of “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar”, a biopic of Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, is likely to contest Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate from his hometown Rohtak in Haryana.  

“Politics is as serious a career as a movie maker or an actor. I’ve been more than sincere and full-hearted about my acting. If I am to join politics, I’ll take it on as a full-time job. I’m not a person who can do many things at the same time. Right now, I’ve movies to do as an actor and there’s my new found career as a director, which I enjoyed although it was very tough,” said Hooda.

“Its’s not the right time to jump into it (politics) and leave my movie career because being half-hearted has never excited me. I like doing ‘seva’ like cleaning beaches or working for other environmental causes, and the way Khalsa Aid does. I’ve always had that in me, but you never know about the future,” he added.

“Swatantrya Veer Savarkar” was initially to be helmed by Mahesh Manjrekar, who quit the project citing creative differences. The film is now directed, co-written and co-produced by Hooda, who also plays the titular role.  

Hooda, who was first cast as an actor for the film, said as the “circumstances were beyond control”, he began co-writing the script with writer Utkarsh Naithani and later came on board as a director.

“When I was cast as an actor, I had people telling me not to do it, saying, ‘You’re an artist, and you will get branded, be known as a party member, you should be neutral.’ I was like, ‘What if I was making a film on Jawaharlal Nehru? Would I become a Congress member? No. So, I found a lot of bias there,” the actor said.