"Akshay Kumar to play Sonu Sood in his biopic." The joke has been doing the rounds of social media over nearly a day now. The reference, in good humour, is to Sonu's initiative to send stranded migrant labourers home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, just as in the 2016 film "Airlift", Akshay Kumar had played a character that helps evacuate numerous stranded Ind from Kuwait after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded that country.
The joke really started trending after filmmaker Sanjay Gupta texted Sonu Sood on Tuesday, informing him about the same.
Gupta shared a screenshot of his WhatsApp conversation with Sonu Sood on Twitter. In the screenshot, a message sent by him reads: "Brother in his next film Akshay Kumar is going to play Sonu Sood! Can I get the rights please?"
Sonu has reacted to the joke with laughing emojis.
Subsequently, a social media war of sorts has started in the comment section below Gupta's quip, between Akshay Kumar fans and trolls. Many fans, who did not find the allusion funny, even went on to point that Akshay has donated to the PM Cares Fund and for the families of martyrs.
Others, who took the joke in good spirits, said after "Airlift", the new film on Sonu's life could be titled "Roadlift"!
Many others felt Sonu Sood should play himself.
Meanwhile, migrants have been requesting Sonu to send them home for various reasons, some quite witty. One person wrote to Sonu on Tuesday, saying: "Bhaiya, girlfriend se hi milwa dijiye. Bihar hi jaana hai. (Brother, help me reach my girlfriend. I need to go to Bihar)."
Sonu's repartee was equally tongue-in-cheek: "Thode din door reh ke dekh le bhai, sache pyaar ki pareeksha bhi ho jayegi (Try staying apart for a while, it will be a test of true love)."
Sonu, whose last prominent Bollywood role was in the 2018 Ranveer Singh-Sara Ali Khan starrer "Simmba", has shot back to the limelight with his social service in the wake of the lockdown.
On the work front, he has a role in the Akshay Kumar-starrer "Prithviraj" next.
( With inputs from IANS )