Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor. Rajput started his career with television serials. His debut show was Star Plus's romantic drama Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil (2008), followed by a starring role in Zee TV's popular soap opera Pavitra Rishta (2009–2011).
Rajput made his film debut in the buddy drama Kai Po Che! (2013), for which he received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He then starred in the romantic comedy Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and as the titular detective in the action thriller Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015). His highest-grossing releases came with a supporting role in the satire PK (2014), followed by the titular role in the sports biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016). For his performance in the latter, he received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Rajput went on to star in the commercially successful films Kedarnath (2018) and Chhichhore (2019).
NITI Aayog, the policy think-tank of the Indian government, signed him to promote the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). Apart from acting and running Innsaei Ventures, Rajput was actively involved in various programs like Sushant4Education, as a part of efforts to help young students. In June 2020, at age 34, Rajput died by suicide at his home in Bandra, Mumbai.
Early life and background
Rajput was born in Patna to Krishna Kumar Singh and Usha Singh. His ancestral home is in Bihar's Purnia district. One of his sisters, Mitu Singh, is a state-level cricketer. His mother's death in 2002 left Rajput devastated and it was in the same year that the family moved from Patna to Delhi.
Rajput attended St. Karen's High School in Patna and Kulachi Hansraj Model School in New Delhi. According to Rajput, he had ranked seventh in the DCE Entrance Exam in 2003 and secured admission in the Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) class in Delhi College of Engineering. He was also a National Olympiad Winner in Physics. In all, he cleared as many as 11 engineering entrance exams, including that for the Indian School of Mines. After he started participating in theatre and dance, he rarely had time for studies, resulting in several backlogs which ultimately made him leave DCE. He completed only three years of the four-year course before dropping out to pursue an acting career.
While a student at Delhi Technological University, Rajput enrolled in Shiamak Davar's dance classes. It was only later that the idea of making a career in acting came to him, as some of his fellow students in the dance classes happened to be interested in acting and were attending Barry John's drama classes. Influenced by them, Rajput also joined the acting classes. Here, he found his passion for acting: "I found the experience liberating. I realized that I could communicate with the audience. I knew I wanted to do this forever.
Within a few months of joining the dance class, Rajput was selected to be a member of Davar's standard dance troupe. In 2005, he was chosen to be one of the groups of background dancers at the 51st Filmfare Awards. In 2006, he was part of the troupe that went to Australia to perform in the cultural program at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. By this time, he was tired of engineering. He was happy and successful in the dance and drama classes and decided to do what he was good at. He dropped out of engineering and devoted himself full-time to dancing and acting.
To make a break into films, Rajput moved to Mumbai and joined Nadira Babbar's Ekjute theatre group, which he remained a part of for two and a half years. During this time, he was featured in a TV advertisement for Nestle Munch, which became famous throughout India.
Career
Television (2008–2011)
In 2008, the casting team of Balaji Telefilms saw Rajput's personality and acting talent while he was on stage for one of Ekjute's plays. They invited him to audition for them and Rajput landed the role of Preet Juneja in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil. 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, looking on as his family celebrates after going through difficult times.
In June 2009, Rajput began starring in Pavitra Rishta as Manav Deshmukh, a serious and mature character working as a mechanic to support his family. His work in this serial received wide appreciation, and Rajput received three major television awards for the best male actor and most popular actor. This performance was his breakthrough and gave him a stepping stone into films. Initially, when producer Ekta Kapoor cast him as the lead for Pavitra Rishta while playing the parallel lead in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil, Zee TV did not accept him. However, Kapoor convinced them to accept him.
In May 2010, Rajput joined the dance reality show Zara Nachke Dikha 2. He had already proven his acting talents by winning awards for his performance in Pavitra Rishta, and he wanted to establish that he had good dancing skills and could be trained further. In Zara Nachke Dikha, Rajput was a part of the Mast Kalandar Boys Team. He did the shooting for both Pavitra Rishta and Zara Nachke Dikha 2 at the same time. On the Mother's Day special episode, his team dedicated a performance to his mother, who had died in 2002.
In December 2010, Rajput participated in another dance-based reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 4, where he was paired with choreographer Shampa Sonthalia.
In October 2011, Rajput decided to quit Pavitra Rishta to pursue a filmmaking course abroad, and in November 2011, Rajput quit the series and was replaced by Hiten Tejwani. However, in October 2014, Tejwani paved way for Rajput who appeared in the final episode aired on 25 October 2014 as Manav.
Films
Rajput auditioned for Abhishek Kapoor's Kai Po Che! and was selected to play one of the three leads, along with Rajkumar Rao and Amit Sadh. Based on the Chetan Bhagat novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life, the film proved to be a critical and commercial success. His portrayal of Ishaan Bhatt, an ex-district level cricketer who is a victim of politics in the cricketing selection fraternity, was praised. Critic Rajeev Masand wrote: "...it's Sushant Singh Rajput, making his film debut as Ishaan, who it's hard to take your eyes off. The actor has an indescribable presence and it's clear from his confidence and distinct likeability that a star is born.
His second movie was Shuddh Desi Romance, alongside Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor. Directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Yash Raj Films, the film deals with the subject of live-in relationships and was completely filmed in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama praised Rajput's performance, saying: "After leaving a tremendous impression in his first Hindi outing, Sushant Singh Rajput... brings a lot of freshness with his unpretentious and spontaneous act." Sukanya Verma from Rediff stated: "After a dynamic debut in Kai Po Che!, Rajput channelizes his abundant energy to convey the childlike ineptitude of a man who wears his heart on a sleeve." Sushant's next role was in Rajkumar Hirani's 2014 film PK. Although his role was relatively minor, the film gave him the opportunity to work with Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma. Upon its release, the film proved to be one of the highest-grossing Indian films.
In 2015, Rajput's sole release was Dibakar Banerjee's mystery thriller Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015), in which he portrayed detective Byomkesh Bakshi, created by Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. The film was produced jointly by Yash Raj Films and Banerjee's own film production company Dibakar Banerjee Productions. Set in Kolkata in the 1940s, the film was released on 3 April 2015.
In 2016, he appeared in Neeraj Pandey's biographical sports film M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, in the lead role of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The film was a critical and commercial success, becoming one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2016. Rajput's performance was widely praised by critics and earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
In 2017, he appeared in Dinesh Vijan's Raabta, co-starring Kriti Sanon.
In 2018, he appeared in Kedarnath, a love story set in the backdrop of the 2013 floods in Uttarakhand, co-starring Sara Ali Khan. In this film, he played the role of Mansoor Khan, a Kashmiri young man.
In 2019, he appeared in Abhishek Chaubey's Sonchiriya opposite Bhumi Pednekar. He appeared in Nitesh Tiwari's Chhichhore opposite Shraddha Kapoor that released on 6 September 2019. Later that year, he starred in Drive alongside Jacqueline Fernandez, which was released on Netflix.
In 2020, he starred in Mukesh Chhabra's remake of The Fault in Our Stars titled Dil Bechara. The film was slated to be released in May of that year but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2016, it was announced that Rajput would appear in two films: Chanda Mama Door Ke, a science-fiction space film, along with R. Madhavan; and Takadum, a musical drama, opposite Irrfan Khan and Parineeti Chopra, supposed to be directed by Homi Adajania. He later withdrew from the former, citing date conflicts. He was also set to essay 12 real-life characters, including political strategist Chanakya, poet Rabindranath Tagore, and former Indian president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in a biopic series on Stories of India.
Personal Life
Rajput was in a publicized relationship with his Pavitra Rishta co-star Ankita Lokhande for six years. They broke up in 2016.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Kai Po Che! | Ishaan Bhatt | |
| Shuddh Desi Romance | Raghu Ram | ||
| 2014 | PK | Sarfaraz Yousuf | |
| 2015 | Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! | Detective Byomkesh Bakshy | |
| 2016 | M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | |
| 2017 | Raabta | Jilaan/Shiv Kakkar | |
| 2018 | Welcome to New York | Himself | |
| Kedarnath | Mansoor Khan | ||
| 2019 | Sonchiriya | Lakhan "Lakhna" Singh | |
| Chhichhore | Aniruddh "Anni" Pathak | ||
| Drive | Samar | ||
| 2020 | Dil Bechara | Manny |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–2009 | Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil | Preet Juneja | |
| 2009–2011 | Pavitra Rishta | Manav Deshmukh | |
| 2010 | Zara Nachke Dikha | Contestant | |
| 2010–2011 | Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 4 | Contestant |
Music videos
| Year | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "Paas Aao" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Indian Telly Awards | Most Popular Actor (Male) | Pavitra Rishta | Nominated |
| 2010 | Indian Television Academy Awards | Most Popular Actor (Male) | Won | |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Best Television Actor (Male) | Won | ||
| Boroplus Gold Awards | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Won | ||
| 2011 | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Won | ||
| Kalakar Awards | Favorite Actor (Male) | Won | ||
| 2014 | Producers Guild Film Awards | Best Male Debut | Kai Po Che! | Won |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |||
| Screen Awards | Best Male Debut | Won | ||
| Zee Cine Awards | Best Male Debut | Nominated | ||
| Filmfare Awards | Best Male Debut | Nominated | ||
| IIFA Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Screen Awards | Best Actor (Critics) | M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story | Won |
| Filmfare Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| Zee Cine Awards | Best Actor – Male | Nominated | ||
| Stardust Awards | Best Actor | Nominated | ||
| International Indian Film Academy Awards | Best Actor (Male) | Nominated | ||
| Indian Film Festival of Melbourne | Best Actor | Won |
On 14 June 2020, Rajput, aged 34, was found dead hanging from the ceiling fan in his home in Bandra, Mumbai. He had reportedly been suffering from depression for about six months. No suicide note was found. According to Mumbai police, medical prescriptions and medical reports were found in Rajput's room and an investigation is underway.
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