Shekhar Kapur, Manoj Bajpayee Reminisce About Their Time with Sushant Singh Rajput on Instagram Live

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur had planned to make the film Paani with Sushant Singh Rajput, and had prepped with him for several months, before the project got shelved. Actor Manoj Bajpayee worked with Sushant in the critically acclaimed film Sonchiriya that released in 2019.

Shekhar and Manoj, who collaborated on the iconic film Bandit Queen, got together on a live chat on Instagram in memory of Sushant, who passed away on June 14. Both the talents remembered the time they spent with him.

Manoj spoke of the first time Sushant came to meet him on the sets of Sonchiriya. "He touched my feet, told me, 'Sir, I am also from Bihar'. He talked about his village, and the fact that we were shooting at the location of Bandit Queen. He used to prepare for scenes to get it perfect each time. Also on the sets, I spotted two books on Quantum Physics by his side. He used to carry a telescope with him, and like a child he used to flaunt it to people, asking them to join him in gazing at the galaxy," Manoj said.

Shekhar Kapur described Sushant's efforts to get into the character of Gora, from the film Paani, based on the issue of water scarcity. "He would lose all weight and come back as a skinny man in one week. For three months he prepared to get into the character. I kind of fell in love with him. He gives so much, which director wouldn't want to work with him?"

Paani was later shelved when Yash Raj Films backed out as producers. "Jab film bandh ho gayi, bahut roya woh. Main bhi saath saath rota tha," Shekhar said, adding that he regretted that he never got the chance to make a film with Sushant.

The filmmaker also admitted that he should have made an effort to make another film, instead of leaving the country in disappointment. "I should have called him, or met him. There was never a dearth of topic for conversation with him. Now one can only regret, ki maine kyun nahi kia, why wasn't I there," he said.

Full conversation here:

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