Remembering Sushant Singh Rajput: An actor who shone as a star from the word go

Sushant Singh Rajput’s rise in world of Hindi films was nothing short of spectacular - an outsider who made the big screen his turf and aced it. A tribute to his transition from TV star to the film star.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput died on Sunday sending shock waves across the film industry. The actor was 34; Mumbai Police suspects it could be a case of suicide. The actor, an outsider in Bollywood which could be notoriously nepotistic, rose to unthinkable heights. Starting out as a theatre actor, he graduated to TV serials and eventually appeared in big budget films.

Sushant Singh Dhoni as MS Dhoni in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story.

Sushant was a Bollywood outsider - son of a government employee, an engineering college drop-out and later an aspiring actor. Yet, no other actor’s rise has been so spectacular.

It was reportedly said that Balaji Telefilms casting team saw him perform in one of Ekjute’s plays, a theatre company run by Nadira Babbar. Invited for an audition, the actor ended up bagging the role of Preet Juneja in in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil. His role wasn’t a long one and he died early in the show. But this portrayal was so convincing that the makers decided to bring him back as spirit for the series finale.

Sushant then went on to play Manav Deshmukh, a mechanic in Pavitra Rishta. He brought such dignity to his role of rather humble means that the show ended up being a hit. His onsreen and offscreen romance with Ankita Lokhande too was much talked about. The show was phenomenally successful. But it was time for Sushant to aim higher.

Amit Sadh, Sushant Singh Rajput and Rajkummar Rao in Kai Po Che!

For his first Bollywood film, he chose Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che! With his debut, he marked his arrival in Bollywood. The film, with its middle class moorings and buddy theme was appreciated across board. But it was the performance of Sushant which, in many ways, stood out.

A star was surely born. From 2013 to 2020, the actor stood out in almost all the films he worked in. Ask a cricket fan on his performance as former Indian skipper MS Dhoni and you will know. In Neeraj Pandey’s biographical sports film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sushant was unbelievably good as the cricketer, matching mannerisms and sentiments in the film with equal ease. You are still likely to see memes online, juxtaposing his mannerisms with those of Dhoni.

Sushant brought a lot of good sense into his acting - it was completely free of any mannerisms. He was all about neat performances, in keeping with the requirement of his character. Add to that his good looks and a charming personality and one had a solid acting talent in hand. In short, method acting married to star presence. Underplayed elegance was his calling card.

Sushant Singh Rajput in a still from Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

It was reason enough for Dibakar Banerjee to pick him up for his re-telling of Bengali classic - Byomkesh Bakshi. In 2015, Dibaker made Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! with Sushant in the titular role. Sushant, born in Patna and brought up in Delhi, fitted seamlessly into the world of a dhoti-clad 1930s era Bengali sleuth.

Gradually and surely he was entering into the upper echelons of Bollywood - he had a supporting role in Aamir Khan’s PK, where he was paired with Anushka Sharma. YashRaj Films decided to have him in Shuddh Desi Romance while Abhishek Kapoor cast him again in his Kedarnath opposite the high-profile debut of star kid, Sara Ali Khan.

All along, he was proving to be an actor whom more serious filmmakers could consider for demanding roles. Thus Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya in 2019. No film, since Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen and Irrfan Khan’s Paan Singh Tomar, has given us such a crippling view of caste dynamics of rural north India. The film, bombed at the box office, but won rare praise.

Sushant Singh Rajput and Varun Sharma in Chhichhore.

Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari decided to cast him Chhichhore, in a story that travels 20 in time and shows Sushant play a middle aged father, who brings heaven and earth together to bring back his critically-ill son from the clutches of death, who attempts suicide after failing to get through competitive exams. It is so ironical that an actor who so valiantly project lust for life onscreen lost all will to live in his own life.

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