Mumbai:
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was very particular about his work, analysing characters that he played in his films in detail and listing his goals by the year, pages leaked from his diary have shown, offering a brief glimpse of the 34-year-old’s life that ended two months ago, leaving his admirers in shock and disbelief.
One of Bollywood’s most promising young stars, Sushant was equally ambitions and committed to his craft, the pages from his diary show. He made lengthy notes for his roles and listed things he wanted to achieve by the end of 2020.
“If you expect the audience to suspend disbelief, then you must do it first. How? Find the things the character likes, loves has sympathy for or at least understands. Every person must be striving for some goal that is positive for him,” reads one of the notes about his acting.
Improving his acting skills, association with a top agency in Hollywood, connections with the top players, “upgrades for cinema, education and environment”, are some of the things he listed along with noting the need for meetings with his teams for achieving these goals.
Also among his goals, under a section titled “asset creation”, the actor listed “Rs 50 crore”, limiting his expenditure to his fixed income and a pad in Los Angeles. Under a section called “vision”, he listed a fully functional presence in Hollywood by this year.
NDTV would like to clarify that these diary pages are not in any particular order and are not complete but only parts of the diary that have been shared.
Sushant Singh Rajput had died by suicide on June 14, the Mumbai Police have said. However, several conspiracy theories have spread about the circumstances of his death including the claim that the actor was murdered. Some have tried to link the case to the death by suicide of his former manager Disha Salian, who died a few days before Sushant Singh Rajput. The opposition BJP has targeted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray, also a Maharashtra minister, over the actor’s death by suicide.
Speaking about the circumstances right after his death was discovered, sources have offered details of what happened on June 14. When Sushant Singh Rajput did not open the door, the keymaker was called to his flat. The keymaker was sent back immediately after his job was done because those present did not want the matter to be leaked at that time and death was not clear then.
His associates Siddharth Pithani and Deepesh Sawant went into the room and saw Sushant hanging. One of the first people they contacted was his sister and she asked them to bring him down and check if he was still breathing or not.
In 10 minutes, Sushant’s sister Meetu Singh reached the spot. Sources say, according to Siddharth Pithani, Sushant’s leg was touching the edge of the bed, supporting the Mumbai Police’s belief after their investigation so far that it was a case of suicide.
The actor’s death is currently being investigated by three agencies – Mumbai Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing a possible case of money laundering.
(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.) Helplines: 1) Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health – / (24 hours) 2) TISS iCall – (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm)