If Sushant Singh Rajput has a secret mantra for getting to the top, everyone wants to know it. Clearly his success is not the only thing that has us all clued in – the man has been more in the news, than perhaps he even wants to. So let’s get to the hunk with our many questions..
You have always maintained that you are here for the thrill of getting into another’s mind and character. We didn’t know you would go literally with Byomkesh (though fictional) and Dhoni, now!
Haha, yes it is quite literal, but just look how fascinating these characters are. The two most important things in my life/career are experiences and explorations. So getting to understand India’s most famous detective and then most successful cricket captain are obvious choices for anyone who wants to explore, expound. Having said that, my next few films will not have me playing characters you have had the chance of knowing, but they are each exciting experiences. You will next see me playing a rock-star, an astronaut to begin with…
There is one question on everyone’s lips – what is it that Sushant Singh Rajput is doing right? These last few years have been nothing short of a whirlpool haven’t they, from television to A-list film actor!
What am I doing right? I guess just one thing; I am just not worried about the future or the past. I live completely in the present. And I think if I could, anyone can. It’s very simple – you identify your passion and just take care of one second at a time. Everything will follow.
There were also darker nights of the storm, how did you cope with those?
I think that anxiety kicks in only when you want to hold on to everything that you have. But you cannot. So it’s better to understand this conflict between this desire for security and the fact of change. If you live in the moment, completely accepting an uncertain future, you really live your life in a very exciting way.
DHONI got delayed; it has been almost a whole year since we saw you. Out here, out of sight is out of mind, weren’t you anxious? What are your fears?
I just have one fear that one day I might start taking myself seriously and, trust me, it’s scary. As long as I take my work seriously (also because there is no other way, I love it!) and I don’t take myself seriously, I am in a better situation.
You have to tell me this, what’s your modus operandi? What prompts your choices…
I quickly realised that I am nothing but a smart repetition with borrowed opinions trying to tell everyone ‘Hey look at me, I am important, I exist’. It led me nowhere even when things were falling in place. I go by three simple rules: 1. I have to be really excited about the work I choose to do. 2. I am just concerned about the expression and not the feedback. 3. The above two are possible only if you live in the moment.
Relatives and stardom often are a dizzying combination! Last year when we met, you were certain that stardom would lose its charm… has it?
Of course it has. You really have to be extremely stupid, ignorant and myopic to really enjoy the stardom (if you have) and I will explain why. The only thing you are in control of is to make a choice as far as films are concerned and then honestly work to build/live the character you are playing. There are many seen and unseen parameters that are beyond you that eventually decide the fate of a film. So if you are a fool to believe that you’re the only reason, you would learn the hard way. I believe it’s mostly effect and cause and not the other way round. Something happens and then we manufacture cause to logically explain it so that we maintain the illusion of control. That’s the reality.
