They say Death is inevitable, but did anyone teach us how to get over it? Within the same year, Bollywood lost three of its gems, namely Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor and most shocking was the sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, yesterday in his house in Bandra The death of Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was even more shocking because he took his own life and left us too soon. Whether it be Bollywood, his fans, his friends, or his family, each one of us wanted him to shine brighter than ever, wanted to see his marvelous acting on the big screen, but unfortunately, his sorrow took over and there was no one to save him.
EARLY LIFE:
Sushant Singh Rajput was just another small-town boy, born in Patna, Bihar on 21st January 1986. His father, Krishna Kumar Singh was an ex-government officer and he was very close to his mother Usha Singh who passed away in 2002. In his school life, he excelled academically. He attended St. Karen’s High School in Patna and then Kulachi Hansraj Model School, New Delhi. He had always been a brilliant student, with clearing as many as 11 engineering entrance exams, including that for the Indian School of Mines, is a National physics Olympiad winner and securing AIR 7th in the Delhi College of Engineering Entrance Exam in 2003, thus got admitted in B.E. Mechanical Engineering.
During his college life, he performed in theatre and enrolled himself in Shiamak Davar’s dance class, but it was only later that he realized his passion for acting, when some of his fellow mates in his dancing class said they were attending Barry John’s drama classes. Being one of the best dancers of Shiamak Davar’s class, he got many opportunities such as being a part of Davar’s standard dance troupe, a background dancer in 51st Filmfare awards in 2005, performing in the cultural program at the opening of 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia and many such great opportunities.
Unable to give enough time to study, he had to leave engineering to pursue his career as a dancer and later on, an actor. He chose to do what he loved and what he was good at. A small-town boy with thousands of dreams and hopes in his eyes, moved to Mumbai to make a break in films, joined Nadira Babbar’s Ekjute theatre group, remained a part of it for two and a half years. His first big opportunity on the screen was when he got featured in a Tv advertisement for Nestle Munch.
TELEVISION
His good looks, charming personality, effortless acting, hard work, and endless struggle paved his way through the glamorous Bollywood. In 2008, he was noticed by the casting team of Balaji Telefilms while he was on stage for one of Ekjute’s plays. He auditioned for them and got his first role in a daily soap as Preet Juneja in “Kis Desh me hai Mera Dil”. In June 2009 he was cast by Ekta Kapoor in a very famous daily soap “Pavitra Rishta” as the main role. It was a big break in his career as his acting skills were highly appreciated by many.
He received three major television awards for the best male actor and most popular actor. In May 2010, he joined a dance reality show ” Zara Nachke Dikha 2″ to hone his dancing skills. He did the shooting for both “Pavitra Rishta” and “Zara Nachke Dikha 2” simultaneously. The best thing about him was he never stopped working, and always wanted to do better in his life and career. In December 2010 he joined another very famous dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhla Ja where he was paired with a well-known choreographer, Shampa Sonthalia. In October 2011, he quit Pavitra Rishta to try his luck in the Film industry, thus he went to pursue a filmmaking course abroad.
SUCCESS IN BOLLYWOOD:
In 2013, He auditioned for “Kai Po Che”, a film by Abhishek Kapoor, based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel “Three Mistakes of my life”. He was selected as one of the three leads, with Raj Kumar Rao and Amit Sadh as his co-actors His very first film was a huge success. He wonderfully played the role of Ishaan Bhatt, an ex district level cricketer who became a victim of politics in the cricketing selection fraternity. His role was widely appreciated by many critics such as Rajeev Masand. His confidence and distinct likeability made him a star in no time.
His next movie was Shudh Desi Romance directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Yash Raj Films. He played the lead alongside Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor. Yet again, his role as a “young man who wears his heart on a sleeve” didn’t fail to amaze the audience by his charm and talent. He was starred in Rajkumar Hirani’s 2014 blockbuster, PK, which gave him the opportunity to work alongside Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma.
In 2015, he played the role of a very popular fictional character, Byomkesh Bakshi in the film “Detective Byomkesh Bakshi” created by Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, produced jointly by Yash Raj Films and Banerjee’s own film production company Dibakar Banerjee Productions.
In 2016, he outshined all his previous roles when he was starred in Neeraj Pandey’s biological sports film M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, in the lead role of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The film was a huge commercial success, with a box office earning of approx 216 crores, becoming one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time. Not just that, he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
In 2017, he was cast in Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta, alongside Kriti Sanon
In 2018, he appeared in “Kedarnath”, co-starring Sara Ali Khan, it was a beautiful love story set in the milieu of the devastating 2013 Uttrakhand floods.
In 2019, he was cast in Abhishek Chaubey’s Sonchiriya ,alongside Bhumi Pednekar
Later in 2019, he did another amazing movie, “Chhichhore”, with his co-star, Shraddha Kapoor, spreading the message that it is not necessary to always Win and suicide isn’t a solution to get rid of your failures. In the same year, he got another offer in a Hindi action film, Drive, opposite Jacqueline Fernandez. This film was released on Netflix. In 2020, he started shooting for the Hindi version Of the much-loved film ” The fault in our stars”, based on the book by John Green. It’s shooting was postponed due to the spread of the pandemic, Covid19.
He became one of the most glamorous faces of India and worldwide, was nominated as the best actor in IIFA awards, Filmfare awards, screen awards, and many others, even won numerous awards for the best male actor, best male debut, best actor in the lead role, most popular actor, etc. But, unfortunately, a young talent like him left the world because the world failed him.
May his soul rest in peace, he will forever be an inspiration for youngsters and for people who are struggling to gain success. His charming smile and sparkling eyes would be remembered till eternity.
Nayonika Mitra
2nd Year,
Banaras Hindu University. She is an aesthete, a fearless speaker and finds solace amidst nature. She has a keen interest in painting and photography, even has a photography page cam.mitra_ on Instagram.
