Sanjana Sanghi cannot believe that her co-star and friend Sushant Singh Rajput isn’t talking about the film with her. In an exclusive interview with India Today Television, Sanjana said that while it is her debut film, she and Mukesh Chhabra, director, Dil Bechara, are just grappling with the crumbling loss of their friend. Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film, Dil Bechara, premieres on Disney+Hotstar tonight at 7.30 pm. The actor died by suicide on June 14.
“BIttersweet is the only way I can describe it. I’m just 23, and I have never experienced the loss of a friend. Dil Bechara is my debut and I have given this my everything. So on hand, there’s this pendulum of excitement, and on the other, is a gutting feeling that losing Sushant has brought with it, that both Mukesh and I keep trying to deal with. We try to give each other some strength but there’s a sense of vulnerability that we feel,” Sanjana started off when asked about her state of mind as her debut film inches closer to a release.
But the sudden nature of Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise has left her at a loss of words. “I haven’t even been able to articulate myself because it’s all been so sudden. He was supposed to be here with me at this interview, he was supposed to be cracking jokes. And to do it all alone is tough,” she added.
Recalling their first outdoor shoot for the film, Sanjana says, “We were in Jamshedpur. On an outdoor shoot, you leave your life behind and surrender to the piece of art you working on. And playing Kizie in my debut film was tough because you have no clutches, there’s no fancy clothes or blow-dried hair. So Sushant knew that I’m giving it my all and believed that I would do it, but he was also very vicariously around me, protecting me and would sense my energy, even before I knew it. We would look at the day’s schedule and if we knew there were tough scenes to be shot, he would take my hand, take me next to a vanity van, give me one of his earplugs and we’d listen to music. Just to calm me down. This is how he was and I got used to it because you get used to good things really fast. I started depending on him.”
Sanjana also goes on to say just how similar Sushant and she were. “In an uncanny way, he and I had very similar energies. Be it cinema or academia, food or dance, these were the four core aspects of my life and it was the same for him. Sometimes we would start dancing between shots or talk about books.”
Talking about a typical day on the shoot, Sanjana said, “So his telescope went with him wherever he went. And since the film was shot from Kizzie’s perspective, Sushant had breathers. I would find him playing cricket on the terrace, and after the sunset, his telescope would come out and then we would stargaze.”
Dil Bechara is the official Hindi remake of Hollywood film, The Fault In Our Stars, adapted from John Greene’s book of the same name. Directed by Mukesh Chhabra, the film has music by AR Rahman.
ALSO READ | Sushant Singh Rajput’s pic from his first play goes viral ahead of Dil Bechara release
ALSO READ | Mukesh Chhabra on Dil Bechara: Don’t want to celebrate it as Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film
ALSO WATCH | Sushant Singh Rajput death: Sanjay Leela Bhansali at Mumbai police station to record statement
