Eulogy to a rising star, Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, who left behind a short but vibrant legacy

Last updated on February 14th, 2023 at 11:19 am

A common man with no Godfather in industry and dreams in eyes of making his name in Indian Cinema, Sushant Singh Rajput met his ultimate destiny leaving behind a short but a vivacious legacy.

At just 34 years of age and just a decade in industry with 11 odd films, Sushant Singh Rajput had all the feathers in his hat – a dancer, actor, philanthropist and an entrepreneur. Yet he was unable to find a home in Bollywood where he reportedly felt “left out”. The pain was unbearable and pushed him to the edge of succumbing to suicide. He was found hanging in his apartment in Bandra, Mumbai on 14 June 2020. The news shook the country and masses, stirring up the long neglected talks on mental health and depression.

The Man, The Story

Youngest among five siblings, Sushant was born in Patna, Bihar on January 21, 1986. He was an alumni of prestigious DCE (Delhi College of Engineering) where he was pursuing Mechanical Engineering before he steered his way towards entertainment industry to follow his passion of dance and theater. He was also a National Olympiad Winner in Physics.

A passionate dancer and theater performer, he had an undying passion for Astrophysics. He also bought a piece of land on moon in region called Sea of Muscovy, on far side of moon, from International Lunar Lands Registry – the only Indian to do so.

He was a purposeful entrepreneur too, with three companies in two years. One was named after a close friend while others aimed to work on preventive healthcare and malnutrition.

A collector of luxurious bikes and cars, Sushant was a passionate and bright actor who couldn’t find his niche in the industry which is often accused of nepotism.

Career achievements

He debuted in Bollywood with Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Kai Po Che’ (2013), based on Chetan Bhagat’s book ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life’ for which he was critically acclaimed.

Before that Sushant was a popular face of television serials with characters to his credit in serials like Balaji Telefilms’ ‘Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil’ and as Manav Deshmukh in ‘Pavitra Rishta.’

In 2016 he delivered a masterstroke performance in biopic of Indian cricketer M.S. Dhoni, Neeraj Pandey’s ‘M.S. Dhoni: An Untold Story’.

His inherent energy brought life to each of his characters. His dynamism, spontaneity and youthful outlook was the reason for his popularity and charm.

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‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ (2013), ‘Raabta’ (2017), and the recent Netflix movie ‘Drive’ (2019) are some of his memorable performances.

Last year he played a dacoit in movie ‘Sonchiriya’ which is considered to be his best performance. This was followed by his biggest blockbuster hit ‘Chhichhore’. Ironically, in this movie he counsels his teenage son against suicide. The year 2020 was supposed to be the year for his rise and stardom with many stalled productions due to lockdown, but it marked to be the end of this firehouse of a performer. A middle-class man who was set to make it big in industry lost his way to loneliness.