His spirit may be sashaying across the Elysian Fields at the moment, but one of Bollywood’s most promising young actors Sushant Singh Rajput would be watching his fans from up there as they would throng to see his swansong – 'Dil Bechara' on Disney Hotstar in a month from now.
A soulful love story, Dil Bechara has been directed by Mukesh Chhabra and produced by Fox Star Studios and will showcase late Sushant Singh Rajput in what is touted as one of his best works in Bollywood. Sushant who brought the legend of Indian wicket-keeper batsman and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni called 'MS Dhoni: The Untold Story', had lost out on a few films, had a few tumultuous personal relationships which apparently led to his death.
The platform will be making the film available for everyone – subscribers or not - to watch the film online globally as the world continues to reel under the effects of the coronavirus.
“Sushant was not just the hero of my debut film as a director, but he was a dear friend who stood by me through thick and thin. We had been close right from Kai Po Che to Dil Bechara. He had promised me that he would be in my first film. So many plans were made together, so many dreams were dreamt together but never once did I ever imagine that I would be left alone to release this film. He always showered immense love on me while I was making it and his love will guide us as we release it,”
The director, Mukesh Chhabra, spoke about Singh and their relationship. Chhabra was the very man who got him his debut film Kai Po Che and the two have been fairly thick through these years.
Debuting on television with the show 'Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil', Sushant gained immense popularity with his TV show 'Pavitra Rishta'. A win on a dance reality show and he was virtually sought after by many. His first girlfriend Ankita Lokhande was the heroine of that film. Sushant also left another film called 'Half Girlfriend' and got a full one in the form of actress Kriti Sanon who worked with him in 'Raabta' – the film he signed instead of Half Girlfriend. But they broke off too. His last girlfriend was Rhea Chakraborty who was slated to be his heroine in his next film for director Rumi Jaffrey and they apparently broke off a week before his demise. The coronavirus and the lockdown in India were a result why the film could not be filmed in London and Sushant would have been alive and ticking at this moment in Old Blighty.
It can be recalled that the 34-year-old actor signed with Yash Raj Films and worked in 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshy' with them before his dream project with Indian auteur of international fame Shekhar Kapur called Paani dissolved in water as YRF scrapped the film.
“He cried a lot,” reveals Kapur who left India never to return till now, wishing sincerely that he should have made an effort to do something for the self-made actor. While tributes have poured in from across borders and countries for the actor – the Indian police who declared him dead due to asphyxia caused due to hanging, are still awaiting the results of the chemical examination report of the viscera to rule out the presence of any poison in his vital organs.
While Sushant got beaten by a few Bollywood stars for roles that he was vying for, he did beat many others in the race to bag important projects by sheer talent.
It is rather more poetic than ironic that 'Dil Bechara' is based on a book and a film called The Fault In Our Stars! It is rather poignant that Augustus - the hero - dies in the end. Sushant beat Augustus or Manny (his character in Dil Bechara) too in the end.
