‘I TAKE UP ROLES THAT I FEEL I WOULD FAIL IN’
Sushant Singh Rajput’s passion for acting allows him to treat every character as a new challenge
Sushant Singh Rajput is going to portray some never-seen-before characters in his upcoming projects, including Kedarnath and Sonchiriya. The actor says that he consciously opts for characters that he feels he would fail in, because that provides him an opportunity to “outdo” himself.
“I take up roles that I feel I would fail in and then it becomes like a challenge for me to outdo myself. My philosophy of success in life is to find different ways of failing, I would fail three to four times but the fifth time when I succeed it would be my personal experience. It would help me emerge as a person,” says Sushant.
The actor is working with debutante Sara Ali Khan in Kedarnath, while in Sonchiriya, he is playing a dacoit, starring opposite Bhumi Pednekar. Sushant has also signed a franchisebased action comedy, Drive.
Isn’t taking on a bunch of large-scale films at a time, taxing and time-consuming? “Time-consuming? Logically, yes. But I don’t think this takes a toll on me because I like acting. It is something I don’t mind investing my time in. I am so passionate about acting that if one day people stop putting money in my movies, I will put in money and prod people to watch my films. That’s how much I enjoy it, so time consumed in making movies is time wellused,” he says.
Sushant, who first tasted fame on screen with the TV show Pavitra Rishta, began his Bollywood journey with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che! (2013). Then films such as Shuddh Desi Romance (the same year) and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (2015) fell into his kitty, and his portrayal of former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni in the latter’s 2016 biopic gained him praise from all quarters.
Sushant’s has been a relatively short career, and despite the odd failure (Raabta, 2017), the actor has been a reliable name as a male lead. What has he learned so far? “When it comes to my work, I act because it is one of those many things that I really like doing, and hence I choose those projects that help me prepare for the role,” he says.
“Bollywood has given me a lot of learning, [which is] mostly that failure is just a way of pushing myself to do more and more, and better myself with every new project that comes my way,” he adds.
Sushant adds that as Indian cinema evolves, it is increasingly offering a lot of scope for creativity. “I like being a part of [the industry], since it gives me more and more reasons to evolve and become a better person with increased productivity,” says the 32-year-old actor.
I am so passionate about acting that if one day people stop putting money in my movies, I will put in money and prod people to watch my films.
SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT
ACTOR