Sushant Singh Rajput, the late Hindi actor who first became known for his role as ‘Manav’ in the popular Hindi soap opera Pavitra Rishta, and later ventured into the film industry to star in hits like M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Kedarnath, Chhichhore, Kai Po Che, among several others, died by suicide on June 14, 2020.
Besides acting, Rajput had numerous other talents, passions and interests in a variety of fields, including sports, arts, music, and space.
On the occasion of Rajput’s death anniversary, here is a list of 10 talents to remember the late actor by in addition to the acting skills that made him stand out in the industry and in the hearts of his fans.
Astrophysics, space and quantum physics: Dream of becoming an astronaut, sending kids to NASA
Next to acting, Sushant, whose Instagram bio read “Photon in a double-slit”, was best known and is still remembered for his passion and interest in astrophysics, space and quantum physics. In several interviews, Rajput had mentioned his dream of becoming an astronaut.
“I wanted to be an astronaut but since I couldn’t figure out how to pursue it, I decided I’d be an air force pilot instead. But my mother didn’t want me to pursue these professions, so I started studying engineering instead but even then I was hooked on astrophysics,” Rajput had said to DNA.
In 2017, while training at NASA’s US Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Alabama for filmmaker Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan’s space adventure Chanda Mama Door Ke, Rajput wanted to create an opportunity for young children to visit NASA. Rajput, a strong supporter of STEM education, sponsored a trip to the USA to a space camp for two children from Mumbai, and also planned to later send 100 children to NASA, as per this report from IANS on Outlook.
Computer gaming and learning to code
A hunger for knowledge and curiosity led to Rajput trying new things every now and then, and acquiring new skills and talents throughout his life.
At the beginning of the nationwide lockdown when the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March 2020, while the world was discovering hidden talents and trying new skills such as baking, cooking, painting, and content creation, Rajput focused on his love for computer gaming and started learning the programming language behind it. He shared a picture of handwritten code that he had written after learning coding for a few weeks and tagged it as “quarantine life”.
Archery
Calling himself an “ambidextrous archer”, while sharing a picture of him practising archery, Rajput wrote, “Perfection resides in the ‘next’ repetition. Passion lies in the ‘present’ one.”
Rajput often shared photos and videos of his sessions of playing tennis and archery on social media. Archery was his dream 37 out of the 50 that he wanted to tick off from his bucket list.
Playing the guitar
Another of Rajput’s interests was playing guitar, that too with one hand.
“‘Passion’ is overrated, ‘presence’, underrated,” he captioned one of his pictures with the guitar.
Sketching
Rajput also liked to sketch. He once shared a video of himself sketching Lord Shiva.
Reading and writing poems
Among Rajput’s many interests, reading and writing poems was an important one. He often expressed himself through poems and quotes from writers.
Dancing
In his career spanning over 11 years, Rajput participated in and won several dance reality shows. He also performed in a number of award shows, including Zara Nach Ke Dikha and Jhalak Dikhla Ja.
Fitness: Commando-training, self-defence training, participating in IronMan triathlon
Two of his 50 dreams also included participating in the IronMan triathlon and training women in self-defence. He also trained with the CRPF jawans in Manipur and made rotis and served the Indian army.
Flying a plane
When he couldn’t figure out how to pursue his dream of becoming an astronaut, Rajput wanted to become an air force pilot. Though he never became an air force pilot, he did tick off the dream of flying a plane from his bucket list.
List of 50 dreams bucket list
Rajput had shared his list of 50 dreams, a bucket list that he gradually ticked off during his lifetime. It included a wide range of small and big things from a trip to the Disneyland, a dive into a blue hole, to spending a night in his engineering college’s hostel. Before his demise, he had ticked off 37 out of 50 items on the list.
