The world woke up to another shocker in 2020, as news of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death made headlines. The 34-year-old actor died from suicide on Sunday after battling depression. His death has once again triggered the conversation about mental illness as fans and friends mourn his loss.
Of the millions as they as that come to Bollywood with hopes of becoming a star, only a few are able to make their place especially as an outsider with no connections. One such success story is that of a young Physics prodigy who topped every engineering exam before deciding that he wanted to aim for the stars, to shine on the big screen and become an actor.
Sushant Singh Rajput, a background dancer turned television actor turned mainstream Bollywood star was an inspiration for many young boys and girls who dream to make it big in the world of movies. He was one of the very few if not the only television actor to make his mark on both the big and small screen. From dancing behind actors to standing shoulder to shoulder with them, Sushant’s journey to stardom is that for the history books — the ultimate outsider who won Bollywood.
Sadly, his dream run was cut short and the smile millions loved vanished forever as the 34-year-old died by suicide on June 14, 2020. The actor was said to be battling depression since a few months and was under treatment for the same.
But in his short, decade long career, Sushant achieved milestones, created history and inspired millions — while his death raises the question of the severity of mental health yet again, it’s also the time to look back at his illustrious journey and celebrate the man he was.
The Television Star
At 24 years old, Sushant made his acting debut with Ekta Kapoor’s television drama Kis Desh Main Hai Mera Dil on Star Plus in 2008. The actor was spotted by the casting team during one of his theatre plays and immediately invited him for casting, impressed by his acting and personality.
The drama saw Sushant cast as Preet Juneja, the youngest brother of the main lead. While his character started off as a supporting role, he was able to win over the audience with his million dollar smile and charm and soon his character was moved up as a parallel lead.
While his debut serial was topping charts, the producers were casting for a new show on Zee TV for which Sushant was the frontrunner for the lead role of Manav Deshmukh. However, the channel was earlier opposed to casting the actor as he was already playing a prominent role on a rival channel but producer Ekta Kapoor was able to convince them otherwise.
The drama titled ‘Pavitra Rishta’ first aired on Zee TV in June 2009 with Sushant paired opposite a newcomer at the time Ankita Lokhande. The drama told the story of a middle class boy and girl who fall in love and struggles they later face as a married couple.
Right after going on air, the drama became an instant hit with its lead pair becoming overnight sensations. The onscreen chemistry between Sushant and Ankita was widely loved by the audience while both the actors were also applauded for their performances.
The drama was not only noted for its storyline and performances but also for the brewing real life romance between its lead pair, that translated on to the screen. Furthermore, Pavitra Rishta proved to be huge success for Sushant and his breakthrough performance for which he was named the best actor at many award ceremonies, the drama can also be credited as giving him a stepping stone into films.
Bollywood breakthrough
It’s pertinent to say that while making it into Bollywood and working on the big screen is the ultimate goal for many television actors, only a few are able to make their way and from that just a handful have achieved the same success in films as they did on the small screen.
Sushant, an already well established name on TV ventured into movies with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che! in 2013. The actor was cast as one of the three main leads and played the role of Ishan Bhatt, a former district level cricketer who is victim of politics in the system.
The movie not only garnered critical appreciation but was also a box office success. Critics particularly applauded Sushant’s performance, praising his onscreen presence, confidence while some even termed his debut as ‘a star is born.’ The actor was also nominated for the Best Male Debut at every major award ceremony including the Filmfare Awards while winning the Star Screen Award for the same category.
Continuing his dream run, his second movie was a Yash Raj Films production, Shuddh Desi Romance. A romantic comedy, the movie was based on the topic of live-in relationships in a small town with Sushant playing the lead opposite Parineeta Chopra and debutant Vaani Kapoor.
His performance in the movie once again won him praises from critics and audience alike with the movie becoming a hit at the box office. Noted critics applauded Sushant’s diverse performance in his second movie after a more serious role in his debut film. He was admired for unique freshness and spontaneity.
While his first two movies had already made him the next big star in Bollywood, it came as a surprise to many when Sushant was seen in a rather minor role in the 2014 movie PK with the lead roles played by Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma. However, the movie went onto become an all-time blockbuster and was also the highest grossing Bollywood movie of all time at the time of its release.
Playing the role of Anushka’s love interest, a Pakistani man Sarfaraz Yousuf, Sushant was able to win over the audience even in his cameo appearance which was also crucial to the main plot. A signature dialogue of the movie ‘Sarfaraz Dhoka Nahin Dega’ (Sarfaraz won’t betray) soon went viral and was on the lips of even those who had not seen the movie.
The dialogue also made Sushant a known a face in Pakistan, as the catchphrase was used by enthusiastic fans for cricketer Sarfaraz Ahmed in the following matches to motivate him and also expressing their trust in the man in green.
From Background Dancer to Best Actor
Sushant had not only proven himself as a brilliant actor but was also a talented dancer. He participated in two dance reality shows namely Zara Nachhke Dikha and Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa, an Indian adaptation of international series Dancing with the Stars.
He finished as a runner up on the latter while being one of the highest scoring celebrities on the show, he was applauded by the judges for his versatility and also for experimenting with different dance forms. Interestingly, Sushant had declared his love for his then girlfriend Ankita on the same and the couple remained in a six-year-long relationship till 2016.
A lesser known fact about the actor is that before making his acting debut, Sushant performed as a background dancer at several award shows during the performances of actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and even performed at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth games as part of a dance troupe alongside Aishwarya Rai.
Interestingly, after about 10 years Sushant went on to not only perform as the main star at most of these award shows but also nominated for his performances, the biggest highlight being his nomination as the best actor at the Filmfare Awards in 2017 — the same stage he once danced behind others.
Just a few films old, Sushant bagged the biggest movie of his career in 2016 that cemented him as a mainstream actor. Based on the life of Indian cricketer and World Cup winning captain MS Dhoni, the movie had a lot riding on it especially the public emotion hence Sushant spent months preparing for the role, learning the mannerisms and techniques of the cricket legend in order to not only deliver a marvellous performance but also to live up to expectations.
And upon release, the movie became both a commercial and critical success, with Sushant again winning praises for his performance. The memorable performance earned him his first nomination as the best actor at every event that year including the Filmfare Awards while being named the Best Actor (Critics Choice) at the Star Screen Awards.
Although, the success of such a superhit project would usually be followed by stardom and brands and producers lining up with offers for the actor, Sushant had not been as lucky. He only had a few projects in hand, the first of which Raabta tanked at the box office.
While the industry is rather generous with flops for those who come from industry families but for Sushant being an outsider the flop was a bigger bump. The failure of Raabta put a huge question mark on his career until his only next release Kedarnath in 2018.
Kedarnath which marked the Bollywood debut of actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh’s daughter Sara Ali Khan was an average commercial affair but the female lead won accolades for her performance while Sushant’s performance was not talked about, he was also not present for much of the fim’s promotions and neither was he given powerful scenes in the movie despite being the male lead. The movie which was his only release in 2018 seemed to have only focused on its leading lady.
However, the year 2019 revived Sushant’s career in form of the movie Chichhoree. The movie became a sleeper blockbuster and was also universally praised for its storyline and performances by its cast including Sushant. The actor played the role of a father whose son attempts suicide after failing an exam and traces his struggle to keep him alive while sharing the story of his college life with him. While his other two releases the same year Sonchiriya and Drive couldn’t do well but the former was a critical success.
Why do we wait for the #RIP
Ironically, while his characters in his last movie Chichorree and also his final movie Dil Bechara, the Indian remake of The Fault in Our Stars where he will be seen encouraging his terminally ill girlfriend to look at the brighter side of life, both discuss the stigma attached to mental health, the idea of seeking support and not caving into pressure, Sushant ended up ending his life by suicide after a six-month-long battle with depression.
Sushant’s death has once again sparked the conversation about mental illness and the importance of mental health but it makes you wonder why it only takes a celebrity death or for it to be too later for us to act and realise what we could have done to prevent it.
Mental health should be more openly discussed not only in the media but also in our own routine lives, people battling stress, depression, anxiety or any other form of mental illness should be encouraged to come forward and seek support rather than feel ashamed about it. While people need to reach out to each other more often, check up on one another and have a conversation.
It’s about time we stopped waiting for another #RIP post to wake up and take mental health seriously especially during the current situation where we are locked in our homes. Pick up the phone and just drop a Hi to your friends, it doesn’t take more than a second but can actually make someone believe that there’s someone for them and they are not alone.
