Sushant Singh Rajput (21 January 1986 – 14 June 2020) was an Indian actor who is best known for his work in Hindi cinema. 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 soap opera Pavitra Rishta (2009–2011).
Rajput made his film debut in the buddy drama Kai Po Che! in 2013. 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 act in the commercially successful films Kedarnath (2018) and Chhichhore (2019). His last film, Dil Bechara (2020), was released posthumously on Hotstar.
NITI Aayog, the policy think-tank of the Indian government, signed him to promote the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). Apart from acting and running a technological startup, Rajput was actively involved in helping young students. He was also the co-founder of an AI and technology company and a charity based company for social work.
Rajput died by suicide at his home in Bandra, Mumbai in June 2020, at age 34.
Key Description:
Born: 21 January 1986, Patna, Bihar, India
Died: 14 June 2020 (aged 34) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Cause of Death: Suicide By Hanging
Occupation: Actor
Years Active: 2008–2020
Website: SSR Website
Social Network: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Sushant Singh Rajput Education
Sushant Singh Rajput was born in Patna in the state of Bihar to Krishna Kumar Singh and Usha Singh. He was the youngest of five siblings and had the nickname of Gulshan. One of his four sisters Mitu Singh would become a state-level cricket player. He attended the St. Karen's High School in Patna. His family moved to Delhi following his mother's death in 2002 where Rajput completed his schooling in Kulachi Hansraj Model School.
Rajput was reportedly an avid reader who was deeply interested in astrophysics and won the National Olympiad in Physics. He secured an admission in the Delhi College of Engineering (later renamed to Delhi Technological University) to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering. According to Rajput, he did not have any interest in engineering but his family gave him no option which left him dissatisfied. He instead wanted to become an astronaut and later an air force pilot but was also interested in Bollywood, being a fan of Shah Rukh Khan.
Sushant Singh Rajput Career
2006–2011: Early career and television
During his course at the Delhi College of Engineering, Rajput enrolled himself in Shiamak Davar's dance classes. Soon afterwards, he also began attending acting classes under the theatre director Barry John. Rajput later stated that he found the experience to be liberating and wanted to continue doing it forever. He notably featured as a background dancer in the Dhoom Again song of Dhoom 2 and in Ashwariya Rai's performance at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. In 2006, he dropped out of his engineering course during his fourth year to begin a career in arts and performance.[26] He moved to Mumbai, took up odd jobs and small roles while working in the theatre industry. In Mumbai, Rajput joined Nadira Babbar's theatre group called the Ekjute in which he remained for two and a half years.
Rajput was spotted by a casting team of Balaji Telefilms while he was working at the Prithvi Theatre. He was subsequently called for an audition and cast as a second lead in the television series Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil in 2008. He had secured the role of Preet Singh Juneja, the step brother of the lead named Harshad Chopda and entered the show in its seventh episode. The character was killed early in the show, but due to popularity among viewers was brought back in the series finale as a spirit looking on as his family celebrated coming out of difficult times. The performance had made an impression on the producer Ekta Kapoor who vouched for him to be cast as the lead in another series Pavitra Rishta, reportedly against the wishes of the hosting channel, Zee TV.
In Pavitra Rishta, Rajput was cast as Manav Deshmukh who was an "ideal son and husband" and co-starred along with Ankita Lokhande.[36] The role was reportedly a breakthrough for him and for which he won various television awards, including his first award for best actor in the Indian Television Academy Awards 2010. Notably, he won three major television awards in the categories of best male actor and most popular actor. In 2010, he joined the dance reality show Zara Nachke Dikha in its second season as part of the Mast Kalandar Boys team. On the Mother's Day special episode, the team dedicated a performance to Rajput's mother who had died. Later in the same year, he also took part in the fourth season of another dance competition reality show called Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and was paired alongside the choreographer Shampa Sonthalia; they emerged as the runners up of the season.
Rajput continued to act in Pavitra Rishta from its first airing on 2009 till his exit in 2011, having played the part of the protagonist of the series for two and a half years at the time of his exit. He had stated that he intended to move to the United States to study filmmaking and had already gained experience behind the scenes in the film Raaz 2, where he was an assistant director. Rajput made a later reappearance in the final episode of Pavitra Rishta in 2014 after gaining critical acclaim in Bollywood.
Sushant Singh Rajput Personal Life
Rajput was in a publicised relationship with his Pavitra Rishta co-star Ankita Lokhande for six years. They broke up in 2016.
Rajput loved astronomy and astrophysics, and purchased a Meade LX-600 16" telescope, placing it in a window of his house to observe the rings of Saturn. In preparation for his role as an astronaut in Chanda Mama Door Ke, he was given the opportunity to train at NASA. He intended to go back and complete the certificate of instructor training, aspiring to be chosen for the 2024 Artemis program. In 2017, he funded the trip for two students to the US Space Camp Center, under his education programme called Sushant4Education.
On 16 July 2020, more than a month after Rajput's death, Rhea Chakraborty identified herself on social media as his girlfriend. On 26 August, the Narcotics Control Bureau, India's national drug law enforcement agency, registered a first information report (FIR) against Chakraborty and four others after the Enforcement Directorate, India's national economic law enforcement intelligence agency, found that drugs had been supplied to Chakraborty and Rajput. Specifically, the FIR invoked sections of India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act dealing with cannabis.
SSR Death Reason
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. The Mumbai Police commenced an investigation, stating that the death was being treated as a suicide. The postmortem report stated that the cause of death was "asphyxia due to hanging," and called it a "clear case of suicide." The autopsy doctors placed time of death at 10 to 12 hours before postmortem examination on 14 June at 11:30 p.m.—meaning between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (Indian Standard Time). No foul play was found. The viscera report likewise ruled out foul play. On 25 July, Rajput's family lodged a first information report with police in Patna, where his father lives, accusing Rhea Chakraborty and five others of abetment of suicide.
On 19 August 2020, the Supreme Court of India allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Indian national government's top investigating agency, to take control of the investigation and ordered the CBI to look into any future cases registered in relation to Rajput's death. The CBI was later joined by the Enforcement Directorate and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to investigate the money laundering and drug peddling angles respectively.
On 8 September, Rhea Chakraborty was arrested by the NCB in a drug case linked to the investigation of the death probe. Prior to the arrest, 9 others were arrested by the NCB in the drug case including Rhea's brother, Showik Chakraborty.
Sushant Singh Rajput List of Films
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 |
Sushant on Television
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 |
2015 | CID | Byomkesh Bakshy |
SSR Music videos
Year | Song |
2017 | "Paas Aao" |
Sushant Singh Rajput Awards And Nominations
Year | Award | Category | Film or Series | 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 | ||
Gold Awards | Best Actor in a Lead Role | Won | ||
2011 | Won | |||
FICCI Frames Excellence Honours | Best TV 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 | ||
IIFA Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | ||
Filmfare Awards | Best Debut Actor | Nominated | ||
2016 | Screen Awards | Best Actor (Critics) | M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story | Won |
2017 | 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 |