Happy Birthday Sonu Sood: Actor Who Became A Messiah For Migrant Workers In Lockdown

An Indian film actor, producer, and above all a humanitarian, 30 July marks the birthday of Sonu Sood. This year the actor will be celebrating his 47th birthday and his fans cannot keep calm.

The audience loves him on the screen, even if he is portraying a negative character. To date, he has featured in numerous Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Tamil and Kannada films. But, what makes him class apart and different from many Bollywood stars is his humility and kind nature.

Sonu Sood is often seen carrying out humanitarian works. One of his best humanitarian works included helping the stranded migrant workers reach their respective villages, amidst the nation-wide lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nationwide lockdown from 24 March 2020, lakhs of migrant workers and labourers went jobless and unable to survive in cities without any work. The fear of starvation, infection amid the COVID-19 crisis took a toll on many. Due to no source of income, some died by suicide and others started their journey on their feet to cover thousands of kilometers in hope to return home or their native place. The plight of migrant workers seemed to be never-ending as many of them lost their lives or fell ill due to the scorching heat, dehydration and fatigue.

This is when Sonu Sood emerged as a Messiah of those stranded workers. When the government of this country failed to look after its own citizens in many ways but help didn't reach these workers. He took the responsibility of sending those migrant workers safely to their respective homes. He extended his helping hand when the poor migrants found themselves jobless, homeless and feared starvation.

In a telephonic interview with the ET Magazine, the Dabangg actor said, "I had no formula on how to help them, but there was this intention that I will not let these migrants walk home. We started by sending some hundreds home but now I am determined not to stop until the last migrant on the road has reached home."

In one of his posts on Instagram, he asked the stranded migrant workers in Mumbai to share their names, contact details, location and their desired destination. Sood also mentioned his mobile number and asked the migrants to share how many people are with them.

Sonu Sood sent more than 20,000 stranded migrant workers with the help of his team. So far they have sent the stranded migrants through buses, trains and flights. In an interview with the press, Sood said how his phone is flooded with messages and calls of migrant workers, "My phone hasn't stopped ringing since the day our buses filled with people went to Karnataka. I've been missing out on calls and messages, which is why I started the toll-free number. That's also flooded with calls. There are over 70,000 people on the waiting list, and many more contact us."

Recently, Sonu Sood has arranged three Shramik trains in Mumbai to send migrant workers to their villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He has also urged the central and state governments to run more trains so that more and more people can reach their homes without any problem. Not only this but he also arranged a chartered flight for 177 migrants stuck in Kerala and sent them to Odisha. Upon being asked why he is arranging trains and flight, Sood said, "Buses take a lot of time and we'd need to take permissions from every state it crosses, which takes time".

His generosity doesn't end here and the list is endless. Sonu Sood went ahead and donated 25,000 face shields to the Mumbai Police so that their safety doesn't go for a toss amid duty in the lockdown. Also, he opened the doors of his hotel in Juhu for the healthcare workers who are working tirelessly to fight against this deadly virus. The hotel gives shelter to those who are treating COVID-19 patients.

Recently, Sonu Sood announced job opportunities to migrant workers who returned to their respective homes and are now looking for jobs. He has launched the Pravasi Rojgar Yojna under which the people will be provided jobs according to their skills. He has given a toll free number along with the locations where people can apply for the jobs.

मेरे जन्मदिन के अवसर पे मेरे प्रवासी भाइयों के लिए https://t.co/UWWbpO77Cf का 3 लाख नौकरियों के लिए मेरा करार। ये सभी अच्छे वेतन, PF,ESI और अन्य लाभ प्रदान करते हैं। धन्यवाद् AEPC, CITI, Trident, Quess Corp, Amazon, Sodexo, Urban Co , Portea और अन्य सभी का।#AbIndiaBanegaKamyaab pic.twitter.com/rjQ0rXnJAl

— sonu sood (@SonuSood) July 30, 2020

It won't be wrong to say that Sonu Sood is truly phenomenal. Probably this is the reason why a couple in Bihar who were stuck in Mumbai and were sent back to their home by Sood, named their newborn after the actor. The couple said that they can't find any better way to express their gratitude to the actor.

No doubt all his social media accounts are flooded with heartwarming texts and messages on his birthday. We too, wish Sonu Sood an exceptional birthday!

July 30th #InternationalFriendshipDay & God sent Good friend to millions @SonuSood Birthday 🎂 wishing him More Power & Strength to serve the needy Indians ..Happy Birthday 🥳 pic.twitter.com/C7PYemoLEG

— Meher Ramesh (@MeherRamesh) July 30, 2020

@SonuSood Brother, me and my daughter are saluting you for your great efforts done for migrants.. pic.twitter.com/lk8mUjmUeo

— Akshay Raj (@17janRaj) July 29, 2020

OMG !!!!! Is this real ? ❤️ I want this 🙏 https://t.co/qGplxVGEhI

— sonu sood (@SonuSood) July 29, 2020

Sonu Sood will be next seen in his upcoming movie Prithviraj.