HomeLatest IssueInspiration Of A Million Millennials – Varun Sood
Inspiration Of A Million Millennials – Varun Sood
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Lakshay Dargan Photography
“From a fat unconfident Varun to a fitter confident Varun, basketball had a huge role to play.”
An unmissable 6’4’’, a winning model and a zealous athlete, Varun Sood started his journey as an ‘MTV Roadies X2’ contestant. With charming looks and athletic physique, he stepped into the limelight for the very first time at the young age of 20. From a high-spirited Roadies contestant to a zappy VJ, Varun Sood has carved a journey that is inspiring millennials to follow their dreams. Sood is a youth icon today with a massive fan following who looks up to him.
Born in the city of Kolkata, Sood never dreamt of becoming a star. While his father Vineet Sood is a retired Army officer and his mother Anjali Sood is a jewellery designer. Being an Army brat Varun Sood had quite a nomadic schooling life as he went to seven schools in different parts of India. His hometown Kolkata still holds a special place in his heart. Sood still remembers fondly the days while he was growing up in Kolkata as a seven-year-old around his maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother and other cousins. He feels a distinct connect with this place which keeps bringing him back again and again. In fact, his mentor Rannvijay Singh Singha and Sood himself share a liking for this city. The former even insists Sood on trying out various Bengali dishes every time he decides to pay a visit to the city. Victoria Memorial, Park Street and Nicco Park have been some of his favourite spots to hangout in Kolkata.
Following the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Sood also intended to join the Indian Army but life had other plans for him. No sooner that he auditioned for ‘MTV Roadies X2’ from Kolkata than his journey to becoming a television star had begun. Sood had to wait almost 12 hours in the queue before getting auditioned. The judges initially were of the opinion that Sood had a bland personality, but eventually he managed to impress them with his fitness. During his journey in the popular youth show ‘MTV Roadies X2’, Sood with his genuity won the hearts of legions of fans and very soon became a well-known name amongst the youngsters. Although Sood did not win the reality show, he won a huge fan-base with his deferential mannerisms. His eviction from the show left his fans heartbroken. Little did anyone know that the journey to stardom for this young lad had just begun. From here on, there was no looking back for Sood, he shot to fame almost immediately after ‘MTV Roadies X2’. Soon to the audience’s relief, Varun ventured into another popular reality show amongst youngsters, ‘MTV Splitsvilla 9’. A completely different side of Sood was seen on the show which was much appreciated by the fans. His fans had already seen the robustness of Sood in his previous stint and now in ‘MTV Splitsvilla 9’ they were getting the see the romantic side of him. On the show, he made a love connection with Martina Thariyan. The duo was one of the most admired couples of all the seasons of the show till date. Lovingly, the duo was addressed as ‘Vartina’ by the fans.
Talking of the popular opinion about ‘MTV Splistsvilla 9’ in an interview, Sood said, “In Splitsvilla, there’s a misconception that you have to give gaalis and fight to stay in the competition and survive on the show. I wanted to change the misconception… I wanted to show that I could be who I am and yet survive. My motive was to win with my love.” Unfortunately, their relationship ended as soon as the show concluded. Numerous people accused that the pairing was only to garner the audience’s attention and nothing more. In fact, Martina Thariyan had to deal with severe criticisms. Sood took charge of this situation and explained that they had mutually agreed to part ways. They continue to share a great bond of friendship till date.
Sood has always been very upfront when it comes to his relationships. He has never shied away from accepting his relationships or his feelings. It is his generous demeanour that speaks for him most of the time. His relationship with Benafsha Soonawalla took an ugly turn, but Sood maintained his composure, handling the tricky situation with absolute grace and dignity.
Soon after ‘MTV Splitsvilla 9’, he participated in a reality show hosted by Vikas Gupta called ‘MTV Ace Of Space’. The show posed the challenge of fighting it out amidst six rooms while making space for oneself in the house as well as in the audience’s heart. Sood said one of the major difficulties for him to survive in the house was his outgoing personality. Staying like a hostage in a confined space proved to be challenging for Sood but he did well ultimately. Sood was declared as the second runner-up on the show. During the show, he made strong connections and displayed good sportsmanship. His friendship with Divya Agarwal grew into a bond of love in the show. Many were sceptical of their relationship claiming it to be yet another publicity stunt to gain TRPs. The duo defied all of these statements against them and are still going strong, giving their fans the ultimate couple goals.
Their Instagram profiles brim with adorable pictures that is sure to get one drooling over the couple. Their relationship has stood the test of the television. Recently, the couple shared pictures from their trip to Thailand on their respective Instagram profiles.
Sood being an ardent sports lover, spends a fair amount of his time indulging in basketball and other sports. He even featured with his mentor Rannvijay Singh Singha on the first episode of ‘NBA Slam’. In fact, his fashion sense also reflects his love for basketball. Sood is also a lover of dogs. One can come across several images where he can be seen showering his love on street dogs as well as pet dogs on his Instagram.
His uber-cool style sense is appreciated by his fans immensely. Sood has established himself as a television star and a youth icon with sheer dedication and will power. Today, millions of youngsters look up to him. The best part of Sood’s personality is that he truly respects his mentor and shares a friendly bond with him till date. Sood has learnt a lot from Rannvijay Singh Singha. He is often heard saying that he wants to become just like his mentor professionally as well as in his personal life. He shares that his mentor has given him some invaluable advice. His mentor advised him not to take success to his head as there is much more to achieve.
