Fuelled by curiosity, Sushant Singh Rajput thrives on challenges that propel him out of his comfort zone. Riding a high after his recent box office hit, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, the actor gets upfront and personal with Shraddha Jahagirdar-Saxena, in a rush of words that capture his restless thoughts.
Post the sweet success of his latest celluloid offering M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sushant Singh Rajput is on a roll. Caught up with the routine that goes with any release, he has been on a metaphorical trot — travelling from one city to another. On his return to Mumbai, we fix a date with the man who made Captain Cool so real that even die-hard fans of India’s cricketing icon loved the rendition.
So, on a Saturday morning, Sushant reaches the venue at the appointed hour, disappearing swiftly into the huge vanity van that looms large in the courtyard of The Park, Lodha. I walk into the van and find his smile far brighter than the lights lighting up the space.
Through the hours our team is at work, I watch him closely — curious to know how the simple, grounded Manav Deshmukh of the tele-serial Pavitra Rishta has changed — and grown — with the advent of stardom and its inevitable trappings. Awards and the accompanying attention for his role in the small screen soap opera, for his debut as Ishaan Bhatt, a district level cricketer, in the film Kai Po Che!, and for his cameo of Sarfraz Yousuf in PK have been part of his life for the last few years. But these accolades and awards — and this can be said with a degree of veracity — have been definitely surpassed by the excitement that his latest flick has created.
The boy who was born in Patna, grew up in Delhi and subsequently moved to Mumbai for a career in acting, seems to have taken recent developments in his stride, even though his enthusiasm at small things — like a kid at a candy shop — comes through in our interaction. As do his curiosity at every shot, his willingness to incorporate suggestions, his restlessness when there is a lull in the action and the unusual ability to laugh at himself!
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