MS Dhoni was ‘shocked, shattered’ upon hearing of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, says director Neeraj Pandey

Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni was shattered to hear about the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who played him in his biopic.

Filmmaker Neeraj Pandey, who directed Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s biopic, has said that the cricketer was ‘shattered’ after hearing the news of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Sushant died by suicide last week. He was 34 and suffering from depression. MS Dhoni: The Untold Story was his breakout role in Bollywood.

Sushant Singh Rajput played Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the cricketer’s biopic.

“Apart from calling Mahi bhai, I have also called two of his best friends Mihir Diwakar and Arun Pandey,” Neeraj told xtratime.in. “They all seemed very upset with such a terrible news. Mahi bhai was in a shock to hear the news and got shattered.”

Neeraj, who has also directed hit films such as Baby, Special 26 and A Wednesday, continued, “Sushant put in a lot of hard work to depict the character to perfection. We are grateful to Kiran More Sir as he worked with Sushant, grooming him for almost nine months. Even Mahi Bhai was spellbound to see Sushant’s dedication for his biopic.”

Sushant’s death has put a halt on any plans of a sequel that the team might have had. According to Dhoni’s manager Arun Pandey, “A sequel has been long crossing his mind and there were thoughts of coming up with something at some point of time but given what happened, everything is now meaningless.”

Upon Sushant’s death, Arun had told ABP News, “Sushant was only 34 and a prosperous career was waiting for him, I have no doubt about that. There are ups and downs in everyone’s life. I still remember that Sushant had a bad side strain during practice and there was a crack in his backbone. But he was confident, worked hard in rehabilitation and recovered within a week. Even Mahi was impressed to see his dedication to work.”

On Monday, Sushant’s family held a prayer meet for him in Patna. In pictures and videos doing the rounds online, a framed photograph of the late actor is seen adorned with flowers.

If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918

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