A quiet 45th birthday for Sonu Sood

Sonu Sood, who turns a year older today, doesn’t have any big plans to ring in his birthday. “When your parents are no longer around, it doesn’t make sense,” he says philosophically. The actor, who lost his mother in October 2007 and his father in February 2016, adds, “I miss my mom and dad a lot. I feel a big void. They would call me when I was away from them. I miss receiving their calls. I know that the phone won’t flash their names when it rings on my special day.”

Probe him on the first thought that comes to his mind at the mention of his b’day and he recalls his childhood days in his hometown, Moga, Punjab. “My parents would celebrate it in a big way, with a huge cake, a party, etc. All my friends would look forward to the bash where top bureaucrats and other known people would attend. I was more excited about the number of gifts I would get. I would spend the whole night unwrapping my presents. Back then, all of that was quite exciting,” Sonu reminisces.

However, the 45-year-old states that as he grew older, he became shy and finally when he started doing films, he was no longer in the mood to celebrate. “Throwing birthday bashes is not for me,” he laughs.

Sonu, who will be seen next as a soldier in JP Dutta’s Paltan, says that visiting a temple on his b’day has been a ritual for years. “On a few occasions, I’ve visited Shirdi and the Aiyappa Swami temples. Sometimes, college friends come over to my place and we get nostalgic about our campus years. This time, I’ll spend most of the day with my family,” he signs off.