Sushant Singh Rajput Death Anniversary: From TV to Bollywood-know how he won millions of hearts

Sushant Singh Rajput was born on January 21, 1986, in Patna, Bihar, to a family from Maldhiha. Academically, Sushant was a standout student. He was ranked seventh in the All India Engineering Entrance Examination and cleared 11 national engineering exams. At Delhi Technological University (DTU), he earned a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering). Sushant Singh Rajput won the National Physics Olympiad. He dropped out of college to pursue a career in show business.

Sushant Singh Rajput in TV
Balaji Telefilms' casting crew noticed Sushant Singh Rajput in one of his plays in 2008 and invited him to audition. Sushant Singh made his acting debut at 22 in the television serial 'Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil'. He portrayed Preet Juneja, the fun-loving and childlike younger brother of Harshad Chopra's Prem Juneja. Later, his character was killed in the show but returned for the series finale.

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Sushant Singh Rajput in Pavitra Rishta
Sushant Singh Rajput was cast as Manav Deshmukh in 'Pavitra Rishta' in 2009, a part that proved to be a breakthrough for which he got multiple awards for Best TV actor. He portrayed a mechanic who falls in love with Archana, played by Ankita Lokhande, an ignorant, kind lady. Manav and Archana's love is put to the test. Sushant and Ankita earned several Best Couple honours for their on-screen rapport in Pavitra Rishta, which fueled their real-life relationship. Sushant left Pavitra Rishta in October 2011 to pursue a filmmaking course abroad. TV star Hiten Tejwani replaced him after the show saw a leap of 20 years.

Sushant Singh Rajput as a dancer
Sushant was also a fantastic dancer. Rajput appeared on the dance reality programme Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 4 in December 2010, teamed with choreographer Shampa Sonthalia. After the couple achieved flawless scores multiple times, Sushant got the title 'Most Consistent Performer'.

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Sushant Singh Rajput in Bollywood
Sushant auditioned for Abhishek Kapoor's 'Kai Po Che' in 2013 and was cast as one of the three leads. Sushant's exciting Bollywood debut received positive reviews and earned him the Star Guild and Screen Awards for Best Male Debut. The movie was both critically and commercially successful. 

According to reports, Sushant left his most successful TV show, Pavitra Rishta, to pursue his big Bollywood break. But, contrary to popular belief, Rajput's choice to leave the programme had nothing to do with his film career. 'I didn't leave the show to make a film. All of them are hearsay. 'I decided to leave the programme because my role was becoming repetitive, and I wanted to pursue something else with my life,' Sushant has previously stated.

The same year, Sushant appeared in his second Bollywood film, produced by YRF, Shuddh Desi Romance, directed by Maneesh Sharma and starring Parineeti Chopra. Sushant was hailed for adding spontaneity and freshness to the film, and his hot chemistry with Parineeti left audiences engaged and pining for more.

Sushant played a small part with Anushka Sharma in Rajkumar Hirani's PK in 2014. He was again praised for his smooth and breezy portrayal as Sarfaraz, and his endearing screen presence as Sarfaraz made one wish there was more of him in the film.

Sushant starred in Dibakar Banerjee's Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! in 2015. The criminal thriller centred on the activities of a fictitious detective figure named Byomkesh Bakshi, invented by Bengali writer Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.

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Sushant Singh Rajput as MS Dhoni
In his biography M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sushant suited up in 2016 to play MS Dhoni, one of India's most successful cricket captains. Sushant received the Screen Award for Best Actor (Critics).

In 2017, Sushant Singh Rajput co-starred in the romance thriller Raabta with Kriti Sanon and Jim Sarbh. Sushant worked with his Kai Po Che director Abhishek Kapoor on Kedarnath in 2018, alongside Sara Ali Khan. SSR garnered praise for his powerful performance in the film.

Sushant appeared in the 2019 dacoit drama Sonchiriya with Bhumi Pednekar. The film did not do well at the box office, although critics praised Sushant's performance.  After he died in 2020, his last film, 'Dil Bichare,' was released on Hotstar.