Mumbai, Aug 14 (IANS): Actor Sonu Sood is being hailed as messiah of migrants lately, due to his efforts in helping them reach home during the pandemic-induced lockdown. However, there was a time when things were not so rosy for him here.

Talking about his days of struggle, Sonu said: "I am an engineer, and after my graduation when I went back to my family, I thought I would start a family business there. But I always wished to come to Mumbai. Initially I thought that my parents would stop me from going to Mumbai as I am their only son, but my mother asked me to go and achieve my dreams."

"I still remember when I first came to Mumbai, I had Rs 5,500 which I had saved. I went to Film City, paid Rs 400 to get an entry because I was stopped at the gate. I thought that if I roamed around in Film City, a director or a producer would spot me and cast me in their project, which never happened. It is only because of my parents' blessings that I am here now," added the actor, who had started his film career with the 1999 Tamil movie "Kallazhagar".

Sonu opened up on his film journey while shooting for the Azadi special episode of the show "India's Best Dancer".