Imtiaz Ali’s Love Aaj Kal might not have set the box office on fire, but it has brought Randeep Hooda back on screen after a long hiatus. Almost four years ago, the 43-year-old was cast to play Havildar Ishar Singh in director Rajkumar Santoshi’s Battle of Saragarhi. But Akshay Kumar announced Kesari on the same subject in 2018 and it released a year later. Randeep who has built a reputation for losing himself in roles, went through rigorous preparation for the part, which included learning Sikh martial arts and growing a beard. Looking back, the actor is disappointed but not bitter about this experience and is focusing on the positives. He chatted with The Telegraph on his hiatus, googling his Extraction co-star Chris Hemsworth and the people who have impacted his career.

What triggered the hiatus?

I signed on for a movie with Rajkumar Santoshi. I was playing Havildar Ishar Singh in the Battle of Saragarhi. We were in Chandigarh, meeting people over there. I went to the Golden Temple and made a promise to Guru Granth Sahib that until the movie comes to a fruition and a logical end, I would not shave. That movie had various problems, but there’s no point getting into that.

I got a lot of offers at that time... ‘Cut your beard, we’ll do this and that’.

In spite of well-wishers, friends and family telling me to continue working, to cut my beard and that it’s just a role, I did not. I didn’t want to break the promise I made at the Golden Temple but also after doing many roles where I played different real-life people in Rang Rasiya, Main Aur Charles and Sarbjit, I knew how important it was to look like the character. So, I stuck to my guns and three years passed.

And what kept you busy?

I don’t know what all I did in those three years... basically a lot of seva. I had time on my hands and the Guru talks about the importance of seva. I spent this time doing seva for wildlife, for animals, the environment and just people around the country. I tried to do ground-level work, which is not just a gesture on social media.

When did you decide that you are not going to wait any longer and shave off your beard?

When the promo of Kesari launched. That’s when I felt I’ve done what I could and nothing could change the fate of the project. Then I got this opportunity, which Naseer bhai (Naseeruddin Shah) believes is a blessing from Waheguru. It’s a Netflix film called Extraction that’s produced by the Russo Brothers, who made the last two Avengers films. Sam Hargrave, who is making his debut, directs the film, and I frantically googled Chris Hemsworth who is in the film. He is so good in Rush. I tried to convince Sam to let me keep the beard but it just didn’t work for the character. When I told him the religious significance of the beard, he really felt bad for me but eventually I had to shave the beard off. I went to the Gurdwara close to my home and asked for forgiveness.

The Guru says that karam is most important and I had no choice but to move on and make a living and earn money for my family. Shaving it off was a very painful experience but I had to do it.

Sounds like it was an incredibly spiritual experience for you. Has it changed you in your core in any way?

More than changing me, it’s made me realise the kind of bullshit personas you put on for whatever reasons. That shifted and made me realise who I am at the core. This was also a huge test for me when the other film (Kesari) was made... to handle it all with dignity and no bitterness isn’t easy. I think I did pretty okay.

During this period, was there a fear that the break could cost you your career?

Oh, man! We live in a fickle world. Of course there was a fear but looking back at my career, after Monsoon Wedding, I didn’t work in movies for four years. I did theatre, then I signed D. Then after a spate of few films, I broke my leg while playing polo and again there was a three-year hiatus. Then I did Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai. In a career spanning 19 years, I’ve only done 30-odd movies. Even before it was fashionable, I worked on only one movie at a time and spent a lot of time getting into character.

Over the years, I have realised that my job is only to act. It is to choose the work that challenges me and not bother about the audience I am performing for. I wasn’t always grateful about the fact that I manage to come back even after all these hiatuses. I used to have a chip on my shoulder and took a lot for granted. I thought I was f***ing Marlon Brando! (Laughs) I am just very grateful that people are interested in watching someone who doesn’t do run-of-the-mill kind of roles. I am grateful that I am getting work post these hiatuses, which are actually suicide missions in the entertainment industry, especially for actors. Also, in turn what has happened is that the compliment I get the most is that, ‘You are still unexplored’.

In Love Aaj Kal, Imtiaz Ali explores ideas of romance and relationships now and in the ’90s, when you were probably falling in love for the first time. Did you identify with what he’s shown in the film?

Absolutely! Though I went to a co-ed boarding school, there was a distance between the two genders. Because of that distance and lack of communication and knowing the workings of the other gender, most people, especially men, wanted just to have sex. However un-woke it may seem, I was no different. Every boy was hustling to find a room, meet someone or how to get a number. But now that technology has advanced so much, once you have someone’s name, it takes 30 seconds to check their profile out. There’s WhatsApp and Snapchat, you can send all kinds of pictures in all kinds of dressed-up or undressed situations. And it’s not hard to meet people, society as such has opened up, where boys and girls can hang out.

Sex is not such a big deal any more. So, what do human beings do now? Now, they’re looking for meaning in a relationship, not sex. In the ’90s when I was young, you were looking for sex because there was only meaning in life... there was poetry, there were birthday cards and every card had some meaningful quote in it. But there was no sex. Now there’s so much sex, they’re looking for meaning. This juxtaposition was pointed out to me by Imtiaz before reading the script, and I was sold on the idea itself. It was a good thing to explore.

In your 19 years in the business, is there someone who’s impacted your career in a significant way?

There are many, not just one. And I’m more grateful today than I ever was. Even with a movie like Saragarhi that did not get made, Rajkumar Santoshi had a big impact on me. In my journey as an actor, there are many who impacted me... Mira Nair, Naseeruddin Shah, Ram Gopal Varma… all the directors I’ve worked with. Imtiaz (Ali), Sajid (Nadiadwala), Salman (Khan)... there are a lot of people.

What’s the year looking like for you?

I have just finished shooting for Radhe with Salman Khan and Prabhu Dheva is directing it. It’s a whole new genre, a whole new style. I’m playing a villain for the first time in my 19 years and I’ve just wrapped that. There’s another film that’s yet unannounced... I’ll start shooting this month.