Hyderabad:Screenwriter Kanika Dhillon, who wrote Kedarnath, feels that Sushant Singh Rajput is not celebrated enough for the talent that he was. Ahead of SSR's first death anniversary, Kanika revealed how intense and deep was the actor's preparation for his character in the film.
In few days, it will be a year of Sushant's untimely and suspicious demise. While the CBI is yet to determine the reason for his demise and NCB is still investigating a drug racket related that came to light after SSR's death, Kanika has said in all that has unfolded in past one year, "we forgot to celebrate the actor that Sushant was."
Speaking to a webloid, Kanika revealed how the Kedarnath team got Sushant onboard. "When I wrote the story, it had this really beautiful character of Mansoor, someone who is so pure at heart. He’s a pithoo (a porter who ferries pilgrims on his back), who has this disarming and humble vibe."
Kanika also said that she was aware of SSR's unpredictable film choices and had very little hope for him joining the star cast as the film was a love story but contrary to her assumptions, SSR give it a nod in the first narration.
"Sushant being a star seemed like the exact opposite in terms of his real personality. We had very few names in mind of the actors who could play that part well. One needed the actor to break out of the mould of being a celebrated person. One also needed to have a certain purity in their heart to be able to play a character like that. We had a narration with Sushant. Before that meeting, I had heard that his choices are unpredictable, and this was a classic love story, which I was not sure he would easily agree to. In my career, I have seen actors going through narrations and asking for time to revert. They don’t commit immediately, but he did," said Kanika.
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She also heaped praise on Sushant for going the extra mile to make his characters memorable. "For the first time, I had come across an actor who could go so deep into his preparation to bring something on paper to life. In everything that happened last year, we forgot to celebrate the actor that Sushant was. You can pick any film of his, and a piece of him will stay back with you," Dhillon said.
SSR was known for getting into intense prep for his roles and for Kedarnath his method was no different. Talking about Sushant's homework for creating Mansoor, Kanika said, "In his bid to feel the character closely, he had changed the entire feel of his bedroom. Usko aisa bana diya jaise usmein Mansoor rehta ho! I do my homework as a writer, but Sushant did more than his homework as an actor. I have not come across another person who goes to such lengths. The day I found out what he had done to his room, I knew no one could play Mansoor better. Sushant, like his character in the film, left a void behind. Sushant was the most perfect embodiment of Mansoor in Kedarnath. I had hoped we would work together again, but destiny had other plans."
Sushant, 34, was found dead in his Mumbai apartment on June 14 last year.
