First films are always special. For Randeep Hooda, Monsoon Wedding — his debut — came through a traditional audition, but the story behind it is anything but typical. In a conversation with Mid-Day’s Sit With Hitlist, Hooda recalled how he landed Mira Nair’s 2001 film Monsoon Wedding, which marked his entry into cinema.
Randeep on his big accident
When asked how he landed the film, Randeep shared that it all began with him meeting with a major accident and breaking several bones. “I had a pretty bad accident. I broke my elbow, my scalp, my thumb, and a few more parts. I had already done my photo shoot and was all set to come to Bombay and struggle — and then the accident happened,” he recalled, adding that he was living with his family in Delhi during the recovery period.
Not wanting to be a burden on his parents, Randeep decided to continue working, even during recovery. He took up a catalogue shoot because he needed the money. “I hid my broken hand, put on some makeup, and did the shoot,” he said.
Soon after, Randeep got a call from Mira Nair’s team to audition for her film. “I was doing the series Rajdhani before I met with the accident. Tigmanshu Dhulia used to direct it. Neha Dhupia and all kinds of people were in it. They wrote me out very quickly after the accident. Then I started doing a play with Sumit Tandon, and we were doing readings for that. Someone from that circle must have mentioned me to Mira’s team,” he said.
Randeep Hooda flirted with Mira Nair for audition
He was called in for an audition the same afternoon. Since he couldn’t drive, his mother dropped him off. “I told my mom to park like three blocks away. I didn’t want anyone to see that I’d come with my mom. She was very sweet and waited in the car the whole time,” he added.
Talking about the audition, Hooda shared, “I went there and saw a long line of people. They gave me a script to read. Everyone was so serious. I smoked a cigarette and then, I think, I dozed off. Later, they woke me up and said, ‘You’re next.’ I went inside.”
“There was a script they had written for the audition. Mira was reading the other lines. At some point, I lost track of where we were in the script. That’s when Mira told me to put it aside. She said, ‘You sit on the couch with me and flirt with me.’ That was it.”
Randeep thought he had messed up the audition. But to his surprise, he got a callback. “She called me and said, ‘Will you do the honour of being in my movie?’ I was jumping up and down!”
“Later in your career, you realise that when someone says something like that, they’re probably not going to pay you,” he laughed.
Randeep`s injury made it to the screen
Randeep officially joined the cast, but there was one problem — his injury. “We tried to remove my plaster for the role. I still have a crooked finger because I took it off too early. Mira eventually said, ‘Your hand still looks weak, so just wear the plaster and do the part with it on.’ And that’s how I got the movie.”
