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Sushant Singh Rajput was one of the most loved stars of the Hindi film industry. He starred in several critically acclaimed films like Kai Po Che, Sonchiriya, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and others. Sushant was also set to collaborate with acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur for the ambitious project My locations. The actor had already begun rehearsals for the film and had prepared for it for nearly three months. However, at the last minute, Yash Raj Films (YRF) pulled the plug on the project. Paani was ultimately shelved.
‘Sushant was excited to star in Paani’
In an earlier Instagram Live session with Manoj Bajpayee, Shekhar spoke about how excited Sushant was about the project. He said, “He was bouncing up and down, so excited that he was going to work with me and do Paani. The great thing about Sushant that I noticed was that acting did not stop with rehearsing the lines or reading the script or doing the movements. His interest went way beyond… Every time I had a meeting with the production designer or the DOP or VFX team, he was there.”
Shekhar further revealed that the actor would sometimes call him late at night just to discuss small details about his character. The filmmaker said that it became an ‘addiction’ for him. Witnessing Sushant’s dedication to his craft and his passion for the project during the three-month preparation period, Shekhar said he “kind of fell in love with” the actor.
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'Sushant cried after Paani shelved'
However, the filmmaker shared that Sushant was shattered when YRF backed out of the project. “Jab film bandh ho gayi and he realized he wasn't doing the film, bohot crya woh. I also cried. He was roaming and I was also roaming around. because I was also passionately and deeply involved with it. Our life is like this – ups and downs. And this is the word – depression… It is not that I am saying that there is no depression, I am saying that depression is a word with which we play. (When the film was shelved and he realised he wasn’t doing the film, he cried a lot. I cried too. I would cry every time he cried because I was also passionately and deeply involved with it. Our lives are full of ups and downs. This term – ‘depression’… I am not saying that depression does not exist, I am saying that we play with depression). As creative people, it is an emotion that we play with,” he said.
Shekhar also shared how the producers refused to make the film with Sushant and asked him to work on another project with a different actor instead. He said, “Paani, the producers said, 'We will not make it with Sushant. Water will not be made. Tried to make some more films, but didn't do it. I started my journey from Hindustan. got angry, got angry (The producers said, ‘We will not make Paani with Sushant. Paani will not be made.’ I should have tried to make another film with him, which I didn’t. I left India as I was angry and upset),” he said.
However, after Sushant’s death, Aditya Chopra told the Mumbai Police that Paani was shelved due to creative differences with Shekhar Kapur and not because of Sushant, as per ANI.
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‘Sushant left many projects for Paani’
It has also been reported that Sushant turned down six projects during his preparation for Paani. Reports suggest that he even let go of high-profile films like Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Ram-Leela and Fitoor to star in Paani. “He said no to so many films just because of Paani. People thought he was acting arrogant because he had become a star. (People thought he is acting arrogant because he has become a star), but he was genuinely happy and excited about the film. Everyone wants to work with Shekhar Kapur. I was there when he was confirmed for the film. Like a child gets a toy and he becomes happy, like that he was very happy after the news. Unfortunately, the film didn’t happen,” Mukesh Chhabra said at an event in Mumbai.
Sushant passed away in 2020.
