Sushant Singh Rajput's face revealed he was innocent, sober: Bombay High Court

Sushant Singh Rajput's tryst with the camera began with a chance sighting. Ekta Kapoor's casting team spotted him in a play by Nadira Babbar's theatre company and invited him to audition for a show. It set the ball rolling on the then-aspiring hero's career. A look:

Sushant made his television debut as Preet Juneja on this show. The character was killed early on, but was brought back as a spirit for the series finale, owing to his popularity.

The next year, he landed the lead role of Manav Deshmukh in the hit show, widely considered to be his breakout role and a stepping stone to films. While working on this Ekta Kapoor production, he also met his future girlfriend, Ankita Lokhande, who played the female lead.

After participating in two dance-based reality shows— Zara Nachke Dikha 2 and Jhalak Dikhhla Ja 4—Sushant auditioned for this Abhishek Kapoor directorial, and bagged one of the three lead roles alongside Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh. His portrayal of former district-level cricketer Ishaan Bhatt, who falls prey to politics in the selection process, in the critical and commercial success earned him raves.

Sushant followed it up with this Maneesh Sharma-directed Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor co-starrer. The romance comedy-drama was set in Jaipur and revolved around youngsters’ take on love and live-in relationships.

In Rajkumar Hirani’s satirical comedy-drama led by Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma, Sushant had a brief yet notable role.

Dibakar Banerjee’s mystery thriller featured the actor in the titular role, a character created by Bengali writer Sharanindu Bandopadhyay. Set in the Kolkata of the 1940s, the film was reportedly to get a sequel with Sushant reprising his role.

Neeraj Pandey’s biographical drama that traces the journey of the eponymous former Indian skipper-wicket keeper saw Sushant take on another titular role. The film, which also featured Kiara Advani and Disha Patani, secured for Sushant his first Filmfare Best Actor nomination the following year.

In Dinesh Vijan’s directorial debut, a reincarnation-themed romance actioner, Sushant was paired opposite Kriti Sanon and the duo played star-crossed lovers. The film featured Jim Sarbh, Rajkumar Yadav and Varun Dharma in supporting roles.

The actor reunited with Abhishek ‘Gattu’ Kapoor to headline Sara Ali Khan’s launch vehicle. The inter-faith love story was set against the backdrop of the pilgrim site and revolved around a Muslim boy who falls in love with a rich Brahmin girl.

Co-written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the film is set in the Chambal ravines of 1975 and tells the story of a group of dacoits. It also featured Manoj Bajpayee, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana.

Sushant followed it up with one of the biggest successes of his career with this Nitesh Tiwari-directed campus comedy-drama. The film won five Filmfare nods, including Best Film and Best Director. It was also Sushant’s last theatrical release.