Q&A: SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT

Sushant Singh Rajput, actor, on his new films, favourite directors, and the biopics he wants to do

Q. Tell us about your character in Sonchiriya?

I didn’t know this guy, Lakhna, and I think I have played him honestly. There was nothing more I could have done. This, according to me, is my best performance till date.

Q. Many actors have a go-to song while preparing for a part. Did you have any?

I search for tracks that make me feel like the film. I had Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Chhoti si Umar from Bandit Queen on loop. A version of it also appears in our film.

Q. You were supposed to work with Shekhar Kapur, the director of Bandit Queen.

We thought we would work together (Paani), but couldn’t. Along with Dibakar Banerjee and Abhishek Chaubey, he is one of my favourite filmmakers. He is my bouncing board. Abhishek is a unicorn like me. Dibakar is google for me. He will know two additional things about something which is not even there on the Wikipedia.

Q. You have done many book

adaptations—Three Mistakes of My Life (Kai Po Che), Byomkesh Bakshi and now Fault in our Stars (Dil Bechara). Any other book you’d like to adapt?

I don’t know about another book, but I’d definitely like to do a biopic on Swami Vivekananda or Nikola Tesla.

Q. There’s an abundance of SSR in 2019 given you have a film out every quarter.

I need to find more ways to sell. All the stories that I am endorsing test my survival as an actor in the industry.