The Rebel with a Clause

Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film Kedarnath proved that he had come and conquered his place in Bollywood. He is now looking forward to 2019 with renewed gusto of four releases— from Abhishek Choubey’s Sonchiriya, Tarun Mansukhani’s Drive and Mukesh Chabbra’s Kizie Aur Manny to Nitesh Tiwari’s Chhichhore.   “I am looking forward to some great work. But I will talk about all these films as and when they release. I am excited about the kind of work I am doing now. People will appreciate this film because they will find something new. My character in Kedarnath was a little understated but in this film you will see a contrasting character,” says Sushant.

He is one of those actors who takes time to work on his role and get into the skin of his character and also at times it is said that he goes into solitude for months when he works on certain roles. “When I start thinking of my roles, it incidentally leads me into it because everything needs attention. For example, if I am stargazing, I forget about my cellphone too.

I take my characters too seriously.  In Sonchiriya, I play a rebel; I was constantly living that character in Bihar in the ravines, and the dust and the heat for eight months and that was challenging. I automatically lived that character for those few months. When I want to learn something, I take it seriously and over a period of time I completely become the character. ”

Sushant  also chooses his roles with care. The actor has just eight films in his six-year-old career so far. But the Kai Po Che actor does not believe in rushing into things. “The directors I am working with are so clear with their vision and have a high level of expectations from their actors. As an actor, it is my responsibility to work on the characters that they have given me.

I have decided that I will take a gap of two to three months and hope that I will understand the characters given to me and work on it in my own way. When I choose a film and take up the process of doing that role, I am a selfish actor. I keep thinking how I will approach the film and my work in it. I try to do it with utmost honesty and put in all the hard work needed. I have not done much work in my acting career as I am still learning,” he confesses  On being called a bankable star today, he says, “I am passionate about my job and I love to work hard.

But recently someone asked me, ‘What would you like to be known as ?’ I said as a hard working actor. When you look back and see how much hard work you have put in, you will only be hired to do a job that requires you to work hard. You will never be a star. Hence, I have decided to work smartly and yet dedicate some time to my roles. I want to take this art forward with a lot of passion. You have to pay a price for everything as it does not come easy. Hence, I dedicate myself to my roles. But that doesn’t mean I am obsessed with my roles.”

On the film’s director Abhishek Choubey, he says, “I was in search of him and he took  a long time to find me. I am so fortunate that he cast me in the film. When he approached me with the script, I had read the first page of it and said it’s a wonderful script but I will have to think about it. He looked at me and said, ‘Read the script and then decide’. I am sure he must have liked my work earlier hence he approached me.”

Bhoomi Pednekar has set a benchmark for him as far as hard work is concerned. “She is on another level. Hats off to the girl for the amount of dedication and passion she has for her roles. That’s definitely something I have to learn from her, ” he quips. Five years down the line, the actor reveals that he still has not made any friends in the industry.

“I don’t go out or socialise much.  I have friends outside the industry. I have been shooting and promoting films back to back and have been busy, so where’s the time to socialise?,” he rues. Though he does not socialise much he is known for throwing tantrum while he is shooting outdoors. “At times there are situations which go out of hand. Small things add to it and finally it becomes a ticking time bomb. 
I used to often react to negativity.  But I have stopped reacting. People ask me specific questions and expect me to answer them. 

I give them a generic reply but it appears like I have answered to that question specifically. And that really irks me,” he concludes.