Latest revision as of 11:02, 6 October 2020

[edit] A brief biography

[edit] Vignettes

June 14, 2020: The Times of India

Making debut as a TV actor

The actor started his career with television serials. His debut show was romantic drama Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil, where he played the role of Preet Juneja. His character was killed quite early in the show, but he was such a popular character with the viewers that he was brought back for the series finale in the form of a spirit.

Earning accolades with Ekta Kapoor’s Pavitra Rishta

It was Ekta Kapoor show Pavitra Rishta, which earned Sushant many accolades and fandom as well. He became famous instantly with his role as Manav Deshmukh. Here, he was paired opposite Ankita Lokhande.

How Ekta convinced channel for Sushant

The show created an emotional connection with the audience. Its characters Manav and Archana, played by Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande went on to be the most-loved onscreen pairs. Ekta in a post had written: "This show was a chance @zeetv gave us based on a show #tirumatiselvum ! Wanted to cast a boy as lead who was doing second lead on our other show ! D creative in zee was adamant he dint look d part ! We@convinced them his smile wud win a million hearts.....and it did @sushantsinghrajput (sic)"

Reality shows

During college days, Sushant was a student at Shiamak Davar’s dance academy. After proving his acting skills, Sushant wanted to show his dancing skills. He took part in Zara Nachke Dikha and later in December 2010, Sushant participated in another dance-based reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 4, where he was paired with choreographer Shampa Sonthalia. He was the 1st runner-up.

Relationship with Ankita Lokhande

During Pavitra Rishta, the actor was dating his co-star Ankita Lokhande and were in a relationship for six years. In 2016, the couple called off their relationship.

Winning awards

The actor won several awards in the Best actor and Popular Male actor category during his TV days. Sushant was a part of Pavitra Rishta for 3 years and the show got him recognition in TV industry.

[edit] Career

[edit] Some highlights

Avijit Ghosh, June 15, 2020: The Times of India

Sushant Singh Rajput
From: Avijit Ghosh, June 15, 2020: The Times of India

(Inputs from Mohua Das in Mumbai, Ramashankar & Faryal Rumi in Patna, Amaghna Banerjee & Sujay Khanra in Kolkata & Kharagpur, Priyanka Dasgupta)

A highlight of Sushant’s acting career was the way he recreated the MS Dhoni persona for the 2016 biopic. The former cricket captain is one of the most ‘watched’ Indians in the country. Unable to reproduce the same gait or style of play would have made the performance feel hollow. But Sushant rose to the challenge.

Dhoni’s railway colleague Deepak Singh, who spent several days with Sushant during the film’s shooting at Kharagpur, was gobsmacked by what he saw. “The way he was emulating every mannerism of Dhoni, right from his batting stance, the helicopter shot and running between the wickets-…he was a perfectionist,” he recalled. Sushant also impressed with his interpretation of Bengali writer Saradindu Bandopadhyay’s detective protagonist, Byomkesh Bakshy.

To prepare for the part, he would move incognito from Lalbazar to China Town to Bosepukur in Kolkata. Those involved with the project remember how he would drop at a roadside tea stall and observe how “Bengalis loved to sit cross-legged with the right leg perched atop the left one”.

Director Arindam Sil, who was the film’s line producer, said, “Initially, I wasn’t too convinced because of his height and smallish face. But (director) Dibakar (Banerjee) asked me to wait and see how he looks like the character…He fit into the character so well.”

Three more roles stand out in his short career: Sarfaraz, the intense Pakistani lover of an Indian girl, in the Aamir Khan blockbuster ‘PK’; the sacrificing Muslim porter of ‘Kedarnath’, and the father in ‘Chhichhore’ (2019), who redefines the idea of a winner to his son and brings him back from the brink.

Yet a career in cinema wasn’t his first choice. A bright student from Patna’s St Karen’s High School—he won a national physics Olympiad contest—he was ranked 7th in AIEEE. An astronomy enthusiast, he took admission in Delhi College of Engineering in 2003.

Chunnu Singh, a cousin, said the family settled in Delhi after the death of his mother in Patna in 2002. “His father Kamal Kishore Singh, a retired government employee, stayed with Sushant in Delhi when he went there for higher studies,” he said. But Sushant never finished the course. He first joined Shiamak Davar’s dance troupe and later Barry John’s drama classes. Success in television came in the role of a mechanic in ‘Pavitra Rishta’. His energy was more noticeable in dance shows like ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’, which paved the path for Bollywood.

On the Bollywood firmament, Sushant flashed like a meteor. He had so much more to offer.