Actor Sonu Sood has said that through his upcoming memoir, “I Am No Messiah”, he seeks to narrate the experiences a common man had to go through during the coronavirus-enforced lockdowns in the country in 2020. 

The “Dabangg” star was hailed as a hero by thousands of stranded migrants who he helped reach home and find jobs during the initial phases of the lockdown from March 25 last year, as millions took to the highways to cover long journeys, sometimes stretching to thousands of kilometres, on foot.

Coming to their aid, Sood and his team launched an initiative to help the workers in Mumbai and around the country, introducing the ‘Pravasi Rojgar’ app to help workers get jobs and launched e-rickshaw services for the underprivileged. 

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In an interview with PTI, Sood reflected on those months and said the experience changed his perspective on life and inspired his memoir, which he wrote along with author Meena K Iyer. 

“(The lockdown) changed my outlook towards life. I will always remember 2020 as a year when we all tried to be the best versions of ourselves. It (memoir) was my way of capturing those moments for posterity. The memoir is extremely special. Right from the time when I began penning down my experiences to the time when it released a while back, every moment has been special,” Sood told PTI. 

The memoir narrates the challenges and the emotional turmoil the actor went through as he helped the thousands of migrants. 

The 47-year-old’s team claims he helped around one lakh people from Mumbai, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and other states reach their respective homes, along with providing medical and employment help to those in need. 

Sood, who has portrayed negative roles in a number of blockbuster films such as ‘Dabangg’, ‘Simmba’, ‘R…Rajkumar’ and others, said he was overwhelmed by the love people showered upon him and being called a hero.

“I truly believe that I am no messiah. My parents have always taught me the importance of helping others and I was simply following their advice,” he said, adding that he wanted to underscore this point thorough the title of the book.

Sood said that the lockdown and the economic fallout thereafter hit the poorest sections of the society the hardest. 

“So many migrant labourers had to take to the streets because they had no other way of reaching their homes. Children belonging to underprivileged families in rural areas do not have any access to education currently because they don’t own smartphones. I believe it is our duty to extend a helping hand to those in need in any way possible,” he said, adding that he will continue helping people as much as possible. 

“My parents have always told me that with success and privilege comes responsibility. I am always going to remember their words. The year was a reality check for us. It taught us to put others before us and to keep our families closer to us than ever. Going ahead, I hope we continue to be kind and compassionate beings.”

Although, Sood had an overwhelming support for his charitable work, there were many others who doubted his motives. The actor, who moved to Mumbai from Moga, Punjab in the 1990s, said the love he received far outweighed the hate. 

“The power of love is very strong. No kind of negativity has bogged me down,” he said. 

Sood has a busy schedule for 2021 as far as filming is concerned. He is set to star in ‘Prithviraj’ alongside Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chillar apart from a number of South Indian movies. 

He has two Telegu films lined up, ‘Acharya’, in which he will star alongside veteran star Chiranjeevi and the romantic comedy ‘Alludu Adhurs’.