When Sushant Singh Rajput made us smile through sports in his movies

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput would have been 35 years today if hadn't died by suicide last year. The actor was found dead at his Bandra apartment on June 14 in 2020, leaving his friends and family in shock. The loss of a beloved Bollywood star is never easy, but the death of Sushant Singh Rajput jolted the nation. Today, on his first birthday anniversary, SSR's fans have taken to social media to remember him through his precious memories. Sushant, in his film career, had donned the hats of many unique characters. On several occasions, he was also seen playing the role of a sportsman. Let us take a look back at his career laced with sports movies that made us all smile.

Arguably, the biggest movie of his career was 'M.S. Dhoni, An untold Story'. Sushant's depiction of the character immortalised 'captain cool'. Through his movie, generations would get a precise glimpse of one of country’s most successful cricket captains of all time.

Though it wasn’t a cinematic masterpiece, there was hardly anyone who disliked Neeraj Pandey’s feel-good blockbuster. Sushant took fans to the life of an introvert Dhoni, who private life was an unknown territory.

To that school match he won, to those tennis ball ‘khep’ (term used for games in Bengal) in Kharagpur or dealing with selection heartbreaks or romancing his wife Sakshi, Sushant was the gateway to the Dhoni no one knew before or never knew after. He got that gait, the mannerism and the helicopter shot so perfectly, that he became Dhoni himself.

Sushant as Ishaan in Kai Po Che

While talking cricket, one cannot forget Sushant's character in his debut movie 'Kai Po Che'. In the movie, Ishaan is a cricketer, who became a victim of the selection committee's politics at the beginning of his career. He has both - the skill and the will - to become a star cricketer, but there is only so much a district-level player from a middle-class family can do. Ishaan is the art and the artist. He trains the kids and scouts for talent. As much as he wants to earn big bucks, he can't compromise on talent haunting. Later, he sets his eyes on a scrawny Muslim kid, named Ali, and gives his heart and soul into training him. He sees his potential and can't let him waste his gift, even if it involves fighting with his childhood friends for him. Ishaan becomes the victim of someone's ego and anger while trying to save Ali, who at this point stands for all of Ishaan's hard work and dedication. This heartbreaking scene in the film will have you drawing parallels to Sushant Singh Rajput's real life.

Cricket was also a part of ‘Chhichhore’, the last released movie before Sushant's death. In the movie, the actor plays the role of an athletic college student named Anirudh Pathak, who is posed with an uphill task of training his friends in time for the annual sports General Championships (GC). Sushant Singh Rajput himself can be seen participating in various sporting activities like cricket, relay race, basketball and chess. Anirudh chronicle his college life to his son and explains how sports can help anyone to fight mental depression and face the challenges of life. Two of his famous dialogues go as 'Success ke baad ka plan sabke paas hai ... lekin agar galti se fail ho gaye ... toh failure se kaise deal karna hai ... koi baat hi nahi karna chahta' (Everybody has a plan after being successful, but if they fail by mistake, no one talks about how to deal with failure) and 'Doosron se haarke loser kehlane se kahin zyada bura hai ... khud se haarke loser kehlana' (Being called a loser after losing to others is better than ... being called a loser after losing to yourself).

Sushant continued to make brave choices and deliver with sincerity as an actor. He showed potential for greatness, and his audience will remember him for that.

Also read: Sushant Singh Rajput was the top choice to play Bhaichung Bhutia, reveals biopic director