When Sushant Singh Rajput said he’d start a canteen in Film City if he didn’t get films after quitting TV

Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, in an old interview, had talked about his back-up plan if he didn't get a chance to star in movies.

Sushant Singh Rajput, who switched from television to films in 2013, had once talked about his back-up plan if he failed to sign a movie for his debut. He said he'd make his ‘own films’ and in order to do so, he would also run a canteen in Mumbai's Film City, make a documentary on it, and also star in it.

Sushant Singh Rajput made his debut with Kai Po Che!

Sushant died at the age of 34 in June 2020. He was found dead at his Mumbai residence. Friday marks his 36th birth anniversary. The actor was last seen in the film Dil Bechara, which released just weeks after his death.

In a 2015 interview with Rediff.com, Sushant had opened up about shifting from TV to Bollywood and said: “When I quit television, people told me, you are doing a filmmaking course but what if you don’t get a film? I said, ‘I will make my own films’. I had decided that if that happens, I will start a canteen in Film City and I will buy a camera and make my own short film about the canteen and feature in it too. And I know I would be as excited about that as I am right now.”

Elaborating on his decision, Sushant clarified that the canteen idea was simply to soak up the essence of Film City, the hub of all things showbiz: “That was not plan B; that was to spend time in Film City because I love Film City. It’s the only place in Mumbai where everybody is shooting something. It’s because of the place it is that I thought of opening a canteen there. I can eat and I can enjoy watching films and I can actually shoot my short film, so that was the place to be.”

Sushant Singh Rajput became a household name for his role in Ekta Kapoor's TV show Pavitra Rishta. He dated his co-star Ankita Lokhande for several years before parting ways. In 2013, Sushant forayed into Bollywood with Kai Po Che!, since when, he starred in films such as Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!, Raabta, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story and Chhichhore. After his death, Chhichhore won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.