Sonu Sood
Sonu Sood became a national messiah when he stepped forward to help those in need. From arranging transportation for those stuck out at distant places to arranging medical facilities for ones who desperately need them, the actor churned out all his resources to reach out to every one in need. Speaking at India TV's Jeetega India, Harega Corona conclave, the actor said it is now he feels that his purpose of coming to Mumbai has fulfiled.
When asked how does he feel being called the 'messiah', 'god' and 'rescuer by people, the actor said, "I feel extremely humbled. I did films in many languages but how I connected with people during this time when is incredible. I interact with people from different cities, villages and town and this gives me a sense that my purpose of coming to Mumbai has fulfilled."
The actor shared that there are multiple times when he cannot sleep for days. "My phone keeps buzzing with requests. Sometimes it is three days when I and my team doesn't sleep. Because especially during the night, there are people who are in need of help. They are desperate for help and I can't switch off my phone during this time."
When asked how he reaches out to people who need help and how does he manage it, the actor revealed that he doesn't have a professional team but common people who help him out. "Throughout your life, you meet many people and form a relationship, but you aren't sure if they will help you in future. However, in the past year, in times of need when I turned back to them, they helped. You get that confidence from them. It feels good when they help. Last year, I connected with 7-8 lakh people who needed help with education, medical facilities and many other things. Now a year later, this networking is helping me. Those who we helped last year are coming together to help us reach distant places. I try my best to help everyone. I have a small team that keep verifying resources at different places. I can't do it individually so there's a team," he said.
"Each day I get 40-50k requests. My team is divided into sections according to responsibilities. So they try and help reach and arrange things as soon as possible. I have to call personally at many places but it's incredible how everyone in the team is so responsible There's no professional team as such, those who we helped last year have come forward to help us now," he added.
The actor also shared that people help him at different levels by giving discounts for expensive services, donations and every sort of help they can to assist him. He revealed that as of now, 40% of requests are for oxygen cylinders, 20-30% for ICU beds and rest for medicines. Apart from this, he gets maximum requests from Delhi, and UP.
When asked, how long he plans to continue like this, the actor said, "I have reinvented myself during this time. It feels so overwhelming when people recover. I feel happy about it. I am doing this for my happiness. When I started, many said it will die down in some time, I will join politics. But no, many elections happened, many rallied happened, I did not join them because I am doing this for myself I feel good about this and I will continue doing this."
