'Sushant Singh Rajput wasn't a mad guy': Manoj Bajpayee recalls being sad for 3 months after the actor’s death

Manoj Bajpayee, Sushant Singh Rajput Pic/File, AFP

Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee, who shared screen space with Sushant Singh Rajput in the film Sonchiriya recalled bonding with him on the sets. Given their Bihar connection, Manoj, who recently appeared on Mid-day's podcast series The Bombay Film Journey, shared what advice he gave Sushant about the film industry and how the news of his death left him sad for 3 months.

‘Sushant Singh Rajput wasn't a mad guy'

Sushant Singh Rajput allegedly died by suicide in June 2020. He was found dead inside his Mumbai flat. His death was first probed by Mumbai Police, which later transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is yet to file a closure report.

Manoj shared, "Nobody knows what happened to him. All of us are only presuming and guessing things. I have worked with him, and I can say he wasn't a mad guy. He was fairly well-versed in too many things. He was a voracious reader. I found him reading all the time, both on the set and off the set. He had great knowledge about quantum physics. He used to talk to me about spiritualism and compare it with quantum physics. He was a fantastic mind. I would not like to come to any conclusion because I really don't know what happened to him. Even the CBI is yet to come to a conclusion."

SSR's death news left Manoj sad for 3 months

The film industry was in shock after learning about Sushant's death during peak COVID-19. Manoj Bajpayee said, "I must tell you that his death news hit me so badly that I was sad for three months as if I have known him so personally and closely."

He added, "As far as the industry is concerned, we used to have chats about the industry and its politics. I always told him to keep thick skin nahi toh yeh jaan maar dengi tumhari (it will kill you). I had thick skin because I have faced so many rejections. It was a part of my life but a lot of my friends didn't have that thick skin. They couldn't face rejections like I did."

Sonchiriya was a slow-burning thriller, based on the life of the dacoits of the Chambal district. It had an ensemble cast of Sushant, Manoj, Bhumi Pednekar, and Ranveer Shorey, among others.