Biography:

Randeep Hooda (born 20 August 1976) is an Indian film actor who appears in Hindi-language films. Hooda began acting in school productions at a young age. After completing his studies in Melbourne in Australia, he returned to India and began modelling and acting in theatre.

Hooda made his Bollywood debut with Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding in 2001. However, after a good performance in the film he waited four years for a second project: Ram Gopal Varma's D (2005), which earned him critical acclaim. After D Hooda worked on a series of unsuccessful projects until he featured in Milan Luthria's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), which proved to be a turning point in his career. He was subsequently noted for his performances in Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster (2011) Jannat 2 and Jism 2(2012).

In addition to acting in film and theatre, Hooda regularly participates professionally in equestrian sports such as polo and show jumping. He is a social activist and a blogger.

Hooda was born Randeep Singh Hooda on 20 August 1976, in Rohtak, Haryana, to Dr. Ranbir Hooda (a surgeon) and Asha Hooda (a social worker). He also has an elder sister, Dr. Anjali Hooda Sangwan, a US-Trained Obesity Medicine Specialist and a younger brother, Sandeep Hooda, a Software Engineer working in Singapore.

Hooda belongs to a jat family, As a child Hooda studied at the Motilal Nehru School of Sports (MNSS), a boarding school in Rai, Sonepat, Haryana. He was involved in swimming and equestrian sports (including tent pegging and show jumping, winning medals at the national level. Hooda later developed an interest in theatre and participated in school productions, directing one. In an interview with Rediff.com, he said that he loved appearing in front of people. However, his family wanted him to be a doctor and he was transferred to Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram in New Delhi. Hooda described the transition from an environment where he was popular to one in which he was unknown as "difficult". Instead of acting in school productions, he became mischievous to fit in with the other boys in his hostel. He later recalled, "If anybody had to skip school, leave school, get drinks, get their exam papers done by someone else, I was the guy who arranged all that ... I was a bit short-tempered and a bit frustrated in school so all that contributed [to the attitude]."

After completing his schooling, Hooda moved to Melbourne in 1995 and received a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in business management and human resource management. During that period, he worked in a Chinese restaurant, a car-wash, waited tables and drove a taxi for two years. In 2000, Hooda returned to India and worked in the marketing department of an airline. He subsequently started modelling and working in amateur theatre in Delhi. While rehearsing for his first play he received a call from director Mira Nair, who wanted him to audition for a part.

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