Sonu Sood has some more muscles to flex now. The actor was recently a part of Jackie Chan's film on the famed Chinese traveller, Xuan Tsang, alongwith actresses Mandana Karimi and Neha Sharma. Now, the latest report is that the film has been selected as China's official entry to the 89th Academy Awards. Speaking to a tabloid, the actor expressed that he was 'on top of the world.'
Speaking of his experience in the film, Sood said, "When I started shooting the film, I spent a year in China on and off. I knew I was getting to be part of history. The film had a star-studded premiere in Bejing and those who attended spoke highly of the movie. It is a special film and only China could have made it on such a grand scale. The China Film Group Corporation (CFGC)'s infrastructure allows them to make such massive productions."
Sood is reportedly playing emperor Harshavardhan in the film. The perspective of the film is also a reason behind its success, said Sood, "Finally, there was someone who could envision India as something more than what Slumdog Millionaire showed. My mother was a history teacher and as a kid, I had learnt about the gracious King Harsha. But, playing the character was enthralling," he said.
Xuanzang faced stiff competition with another film, Crosscurrent, in the competition. However, the official entry does not always mean success. In the past, two Chinese films have been sent as official entries to the Oscars, only Ju Dou (1990) and Hero (2000) managed to secure nominations to the shortlist.
Hopefully, Sonu Sood might want this one to be third time lucky.