Actor · Telugu cinema
Sonu Sood
Sonu Sood movies: 18 Telugu films on file, 2000–2022. Earliest on file: Hands Up! (2000). Latest release: Acharya (29 April 2022).
- Films on file
- 18 (18 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2000–2022
- Born
- 30 July 1976 · July birthdays (Wikidata)
- Record
- Q2573055 on Wikidata
Sonu Sood is an Indian actor, producer and philanthropist who works mainly in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films, usually as the antagonist. In Telugu he is best known as Pasupathy in Arundhati (2009), which won him the Nandi Award for Best Villain and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu, and for Athadu (2005), Dookudu (2011) and Julai (2012).
Wikipedia gives his birth date as 30 July 1973. Wikidata gives 30 July 1976, citing an ANI report, so the year differs between sources; Wikidata lists Moga, Punjab, as his birthplace. He studied at Sacred Heart School, Moga, and took a B.Tech in electronics engineering at Yashwantrao Chavan College of Engineering.
Career
He began in the Tamil films Kallazhagar and Nenjinile (1999) and played the antagonist in the Telugu film Hands Up! (2000). In Hindi he played Bhagat Singh in Shaheed-E-Azam (2002) and Abhishek Bachchan’s brother in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva (2004).
In Telugu, Super (2005), with Nagarjuna, brought him wider recognition, followed by Athadu and Ashok (2006), by which time he was a familiar villain in Telugu films. After Mr. Medhavi (2008), he played Pasupathy in Arundhati (2009), and the same year appeared as the gangster Bada in Anjaneyulu opposite Ravi Teja, in Bangaru Babu and as Johnny Bhai in Ek Niranjan. In Hindi he played the lead antagonist in Dabangg (2010).
His later Telugu films include Shakti, Kandireega and Dookudu, as Nayak (2011); Julai and Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara? (2012); Bhai (2013); Aagadu (2014), as Damodar; Alludu Adhurs (2021); and Acharya (2022), as Basava. In July 2016 he set up the production house Shakti Sagar Productions, named after his father.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 he arranged buses, trains and flights to help stranded migrant workers return home, and the United Nations Development Programme chose him for its SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award in September 2020.
Awards
- Nandi Award for Best Villain for Arundhati (Mid-Day), and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu for the same film, per Wikipedia.
- SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role (Telugu) for Julayi, per Wikipedia.
- Apsara and IIFA awards for his negative role in Dabangg, per Wikipedia.
Upcoming films
No upcoming Telugu film of his is on our records. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch his films
- Acharya: Prime Video, from 20 May 2022, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Athadu: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Sonali, who is from Andhra Pradesh, in 1996, according to Wikipedia, citing The Times of India. They have two sons.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Sonu Sood appears in 18 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2000 to 2022. The earliest of them is Hands Up! (2000), and the most recent release is Acharya (2022). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Aagadu (2014), Dookudu (2011) and Julai (2012). Other recent releases on file are Bhai (2013), Uu Kodathara? Ulikki Padathara? (2012) and Kandireega (2011).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing ten films with Sonu Sood, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (4) and Mahesh Babu (3). Among directors, Puri Jagannadh, Trivikram Srinivas and Srinu Vaitla each cast Sonu Sood in two films, more than any other director. Music on five of them is by Mani Sharma, with S. Thaman (4) and Chakri (2) next. Across these films the credits on file name 15 different directors, 9 music directors and 63 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 14 of them; they average 155 minutes, and the longest is Dookudu at 175 minutes. Six of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (9), 2010s (8) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.