My birthday is more about spending time with myself: Sushant Singh Rajput | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

My birthday is more about spending time with myself: Sushant Singh Rajput

Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai
Jan 21, 2017 08:59 AM IST

As Sushant Singh Rajput turns a year older today, the actor says people have started “expecting more” from him.

Ever since his Bollywood debut (Kai Po Che!; 2013), he has risen swiftly, both in terms of popularity and success. But clearly, Sushant Singh Rajput has charted a different course for his career. “I am the sum of all the right and wrong decisions,” says the actor, philosophically, as he turns a year older and talks about life, career and rumours.

Sushant Singh Rajput moved into films from TV after starring in a hit TV show, Pavitra Rishta.(HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput moved into films from TV after starring in a hit TV show, Pavitra Rishta.(HT Photo)

Are you a birthday person?

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Not at all. I used to be excited about my birthdays for the first few years of my life because, my mother and sisters would have a big celebration. Also, I would be thrilled about cake and gifts, but now it’s [birthday] more about spending time with myself; and appreciating that the earth doesn’t get tired and so, it has completed another circle around the sun.

Sushant Singh Rajput starred as MS Dhoni in the biopic on ex-Indian captain. (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput starred as MS Dhoni in the biopic on ex-Indian captain. (HT Photo)

As you turn a year older, do you look back and feel content with the way life has been till date?

I am the sum of all the right and wrong decisions that I’ve taken in my life; and I am equally proud of both, because, they have together made me who I am.

Sushant Singh Rajput did a cameo in PK. (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput did a cameo in PK. (HT Photo)

Has life changed post the success of Dhoni biopic?

The [amount in] pay cheques have changed (laughs). People have started expecting more [from me], but I promise that everything I attempt in the future will be because of the same ‘why’ and that is my passion and excitement.

In 2017, you also complete four years in Bollywood...

Like a dream. I got to work with the film-makers I always wanted to work with and had the kind of experience that I always wanted to have. It could not have been better.

Sushant Singh Rajput starred as a sleuth in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput starred as a sleuth in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (HT Photo)

You are famous as well as rich now. After you achieve these ‘important’ things, what gives you happiness?

There is a term in economics called the inflection point (sic), which says that when you have little money, ‘you can buy a lot’ and after the point, ‘a lot can buy you little’. As far as fame is concerned, I have more of it than the people I look up to and would never have as much as people I detest. They [fame and money] don’t make any sense to me. The work itself is so exciting that I could pay to act if things come to that (smiles).

Watch Har Gully Mein Dhoni Hai video song | MS Dhoni - The Untold Story

Of late, several stories about your personal life — vis-à-vis Kriti Sanon — made it to gossip columns. Do they bother you?

No, it makes me feel really excited. I really wish I could be as interesting as their fiction suggests. But as long as they are happy, so am I.

Sushant Singh Rajput started his film career with Kai Po Che in 2013. (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput started his film career with Kai Po Che in 2013. (HT Photo)

What do birthdays mean to you — time to introspect or looking at the year ahead?

Neither of them. It’s more to do with just the realisation that time is subjective. When you are really young, time flies slowly in anticipation of the youth, but the period of the youth goes by quickly because you’re so excited about it. The introspection time is for the old age when things slow down again.

Do you think the past year was one of the most important years of your career?

I lack the ability to think about the past as well as the future, so I never look at my career from that perspective. If I’m excited — irrespective of the money and commercial success — that feeling of satisfaction is the best.

Sushant Singh Rajput initially tasted success with Shuddh Desi Romance. (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput initially tasted success with Shuddh Desi Romance. (HT Photo)

Recently, you said that you are an actor and not a star. But doesn’t being a star mean that you have won over so many people? For instance, Shah Rukh Khan says that he is a star who can act.

If you tell me ‘I’m a good actor’, I will like it, and if you don’t, I will be disappointed. But if you tell me that ‘I’m a star’, I will take that too [as a compliment] and on the contrary, I don’t miss being called a celestial body (laughs).

Are you at peace with your professional and personal life by now or the search still continues?

Psychological security is not possible. However, if you accept this truth, you could use the same fact to create a beautiful life by valuing all the relationships and achievements.

Sushant Singh Rajput’s next release will be Raabta with rumoured girlfriend, Kriti Sanon. (HT Photo)
Sushant Singh Rajput’s next release will be Raabta with rumoured girlfriend, Kriti Sanon. (HT Photo)

You have started preparing for your next lot of films. Are you enjoying the madness that comes with the territory?

This is the best phase for my craft as an actor. I’m preparing for Tarun’s (Mansukhani) next and Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s Chandamama Door Ke. I am still figuring out my characters (from both the films). This phase is the most alive that I could possibly ever feel.

Oscars 2024: From Nominees to Red Carpet Glam! Get Exclusive Coverage on HT. Click Here

Get more updates from Bollywood, Hollywood, Music and Web Series along with Latest Entertainment News at Hindustan Times.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    author-default-90x90

    Prashant Singh is an Assistant Editor with HT Cafe. Besides bringing out the edition on a daily basis, he also extensively writes on Bollywood.

SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On