As condolences pour in from Bollywood after the untimely demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee and Shekhar Kapur got together to pay a special tribute to the late actor. In an enriching Instagram chat, Manoj and Shekhar spoke about Sushant as a person, his curious nature, his craft and his passion for Quantum Physics.
Manoj Bajpayee reminisced about spending time with Sushant on the sets of Sonchiriya. “Ever since I heard about this devastating news, the image of Sushant is not leaving my mind. On the first day of shoot he came a touched my feet. It struck me then - that one gesture questioned all perceptions and rumours floating about him. I saw this guy and slowly understood where he came from. Thereon our journey of knowing each other started. Everyday watching him work on his craft, trying to perfect every shot I was fascinated”, Manoj said.
The actor also added that Sushant was always so grateful for the advice and suggestions offered to him. The Family Man actor also spoke about Sushant’s curiosity, his interest in Quantum Physics, his fondness for the mutton curry that Bajpayee would cook on the sets and the way in which he would always strive for perfection.
Echoing Manoj Bajpayee’s thoughts, Shekhar Kapur recalled signing Sushant on Paani, a project very close to both their hearts that was unfortunately shelved. “The first time I met Sushant I thought I was meeting a child. He was bouncing up and down, so excited that he was going to work with me. The great thing about Sushant was that his interest went way beyond just reading the script, acting or rehearsing the lines. He would be as invested into what the set would look like and would attend all the meetings that I had with the DoP, the VFX team etc”.
Kapur added that Sushant was devastated when Paani hit a roadblock and he wept copiously. “I too wept with him”, the filmmaker said, adding that he regrets not being able to work with him. “Sushant’s contribution is a reality that he brought to his films. There are two types of stars. One who keeps repeating the same performance for some claps, and the other who is an actor. The latter’s journey becomes all the more difficult. Sushant was on his way to achieve the peak”.
In the end both agreed that the cacophony around Sushant’s demise is somewhere disgracing the actor. They both felt that instead of digging out conspiracy theories people should celebrate his work and watch his films.
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