THE CAPTAIN OF HIS FATE FROM BEING A BACK- UP DANCER FOR AT AWARD CEREMONIES TO PLAYING MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI IN NEERAJ PANDEY’S NEXT FILM, HAS HAD QUITE THE JOURNEY. BY EKTA MOHTA

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DABBOO RATNANI STYLED BY PALAK SHARMA CREATIVE DIRECTION BY KAPIL BATUS MAKE-UP & HAIR BY MONA/BBLUNT

ON RAJPUT: GREY CHECKED SUIT AND SKY BLUE SHIRT BY BROOKS BROTHERS; WATCH BY VACHERON CONSTANTIN; PATENT BLACK SHOES BY TOM FORD COVER STORY

2nd April, 2011, on perhaps the best day of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s life, there wasn’t a man in India who didn’t want to be him. Four-and-a- bit years later, I’m looking at the man who will be him in an upcoming biopic. Sushant Singh Rajput is a sober, unassuming presence. Even at our shoot, the only reason I notice him is because, bundled in mohair and cashmere, he’s the best-dressed person on set. Can Rajput portray the masculinity, the restrained aggression, Othe rooted charm, and the troubledn and celebrated life of Dhoni? Can he pull off knowing the impossible weight of a billion expectations? Can he make us believe, for three brief hours, that he has crystal in his veins and embers in his heart?

Rajput’s hair, which he’d grown to reach his shoulders (thanks to the unflattering hairstyle Dhoni once had), is abridged when we meet. He has some bruises on his coffee-coloured face, left untouched by make-up. With velvet brown eyes and a shy, toothy smile, Rajput makes no commotion around himself. While most employ charisma and swagger when talking to journalists, he relies on a poker face. “Before I did theatre, I was very, very quiet, completely into books,” he admits. “For 17-18 years I was in a happy space, and I would have remained like that. I was not aware that this is something I wanted — to “DHONI IS communicate. I still have that problem. I cannot be very expressive. I think about THE 52ND something, and I express it in words, and there’s an inherent loss of meaning.” CHARACTER ★ While attending an engineering college in Delhi, which he dropped out of in I’LL BE PLAYING IF I CONSIDER his third year, Rajput enrolled in Shiamak Davar’s dance class because he was THEATRE, told “very hot girls go there”. After being included in the main company and TELEVISION dancing behind some of India’s beautiful, silly people, Davar advised him to try AND FILM. I’VE theatre. “He said, ‘Not for anything else, but you’re not the best dancer I have. BEEN TRAINING But, I think there’s something in you.’ So, I went to Barry John.” Even so many FOR THE LAST years out of John’s shadow, Rajput, who is 29, says with a jab of pride, “In my 11 MONTHS. batch with Barry I was the only one who got a B grade. Everyone else got a C.” IT DEFINITELY ★ CHANGES YOU Soon after arriving in Mumbai, Rajput joined Nadira Babbar’s Ekjute theatre WHEN YOU’RE company. “He was exceptionally sincere and dedicated. Very, very obedient and TRAINING one of my best students,” recalls Babbar. Rajput eventually landed the lead role TO BE A TOP on Balaji Telefilms’ Pavitra Rishta, which he left before any generational leaps SPORTSMAN” could be written in. Given his later choices and abilities, Rajput is proof that even in the world of our soap operas, there are good, thinking actors. It makes BLACK SUIT BY BURBERRY; WHITE SHIRT BY you wonder what other diamonds Ekta Kapoor has been hiding in her handbag. CANALI; BOW TIE BY BROOKS BROTHERS

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Delhi, the one place in sure, and in a very good way. You explore on the set together to see India where your surname what works. When you do this, maybe you’ll fail, and that’s fine. But, is everything is Filmcity. whatever you create will be something new, something personal. And, One can imagine, then, the that is something every , every artist should strive for.” Rajput is Afteramount of obstinacy any outsider needs to have. Four films old, Rajput slated to be in Shekhar Kapur’s Paani, a film that’s been in the womb has walked a strange course. He’s liked by some of our finest directors, for more than a decade. “They’re still doing pre-production on Paani. but the audience seems indifferent to him. He played a middling cricket It’s a big budget film; I think more than 100 crores. If you’re making coach in Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che; a man allergic to marriage, that film with Shah Rukh or Aamir or Salman, as a producer, you’re at but not to love and sex, in Maneesh Sharma’s Shuddh Desi Romance; peace. But, when you’re doing it with a newcomer like me, you need to a trivial love interest in ’s PK; and a unibrowed be sure about every other aspect.” sleuth in Dibakar Banerjee’s Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! “With all Even though his journey is like ’s (theatre to these directors, I’ve realised there’s no one right way of making a film. television to film), Rajput honestly sounds more like . With Gattu [Abhishek Kapoor], it was a mix of heavy preparation and His belief in preparation over draamebaazi, his idealism towards the improvisation. Maneesh is lots of reading. Mr Hirani, for how many stories he wants to be a part of, his aim to do one film at a time, even his ever days I shot with him, was open to everything I was doing.” style of cracking unfunny jokes. “Anyone can be confident in front of His most challenging role, undoubtedly, was that of Bakshy. “I think the camera, and memorise his lines, and be an actor,” he says. “But, that I was playing the 75th Byomkesh, even if it was done for the first time in should not be the case. When you’re acting, and you want to improvise, Hindi films.” While talking to The Indian Express, Banerjee had said, it should not be your spontaneity, but the character’s spontaneity.” He’s “Sushant is a bigger obsessive than I am. On the sets, he graduated into also rather opinionated about how the Indian film industry needs to full-fledged insomnia. He would rehearse, do workshops, write notes up its game. “People associate us with typical, escapist, masala films. and work with me. He lost 12 kilos, changed his physicality, his face.” When they want to see a nice film they choose a Hollywood film. So, it’s Anand Tiwari, who played Watson to Rajput’s Holmes, says, “The not a good reputation we’re going for. I’m not saying every film should commitment the boy [Rajput] showed was exemplary. He completely be intense, but we need to have something to say.” submitted to Dibakar.” Rajput says, “That is the most interesting part of what I do. To first do so much research that it gives me the nice thing about profiles such as authority to be the character.” With their matching intensity, Rajput this is you hear the things people met a kindred spirit in Banerjee. “Dibakar operates on some other might say in your eulogy. Rajput level in life. He’s so intelligent that he lets you think you are the one has garnered an immensely likeable coming up with the ideas. Normally when you work with a director, Onereputation with the people he’s met on his way to the top. Shiamak they’re sure that ‘this is something you need to do; this is something Davar, who runs into him at award shows, says, “He’s still as grateful I want’. But, people such as Shekhar Kapur and Dibakar, they’re not as ever, and keeps thanking me.” Babbar, in her smoky voice, says, “His success has not even touched his fingers; it’s never gone to his head. BLACK SUIT AND NAVY Whenever we invite him for any of our play openings, he’s the first one BLUE JUMPER BY to arrive. It’s so nice to see him.” Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, BURBERRY; CHECKED BLACK AND WHITE who coached him for Kai Po Che, says he’s “like my child”. In an SHIRT BY BROOKS industry where bedfellows change with each film, Rajput has also held BROTHERS; WATCH on to Ankita Lokhande, his co-star on Pavitra Rishta and his live-in BY VACHERON CONSTANTIN; CHELSEA girlfriend of many years. Since the Indian press likes to behave like BLACK BOOTS BY Indian grandmothers, he’s asked about his marriage plans in almost CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN every interview. Some reports state a date has been fixed for next year. Right now, M.S. Dhoni is taking up all his time. Chhabra says he’s perfect to play Dhoni because “his commitment and dedication is so “DIBAKAR much. You need that much for Dhoni. Plus, he’s from Bihar, and has OPERATES ON good control over Hindi”. Rajput signed M.S. Dhoni while he was SOME OTHER a stick figure for Byomkesh. Tiwari says, “When he was offered the film, he quietly confided in me. I was so excited for him. I told him LEVEL IN jokingly, ‘You know who should play Raina, right?’ When he started LIFE. HE’S SO practising, he showed me a video of him playing the helicopter INTELLIGENT shot, and I honestly couldn’t tell the difference.” “Dhoni is the 52nd THAT HE LETS character I’ll be playing if I consider theatre, television and film,” says YOU THINK Rajput. “I’ve been training for the last 11 months. It’s interesting that YOU ARE THE what you do normally, since you were a kid, and then to completely ONE COMING immerse yourself into it when you’re 28-29 — it definitely changes UP WITH THE you when you’re training to be a top sportsman. I’ve become more IDEAS” focused and disciplined now. I’ve slogged for so many hours in the sun. I’m obsessed with cricket now.” There’s a beat, and then he says, DARK GREY SUIT BY HUGO BOSS; SHIRT BY somewhat predictably, “That’s good for the character.” MUMBAI & HILL, KHAR WEST, TRUEFITT COURTESY: LOCATION TOMMY HILFIGER

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