Sushant Singh Rajput’s journey before Bollywood: From a college dropout to a background dancer in Dhoom Again

During his days at the DCE, Sushant enrolled himself in Shiamak Davar’s classes. Because of his impressive moves, he soon joined the choreographer and became a background dancer for his troupe. He went on to feature in the song “Dhoom Again” from Dhoom 2. He was also a part of Aishwarya Rai’s act at 2006 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, apart from performing at IIFA in 2005.

In 2015, Sushant had told IANS that he joined Shiamak Davar just to see “hot girls”, but he ended up taking life lessons from the ace choreographer. He also credited Shiamak for giving him the confidence to become an actor.

“I used to sell peanuts along with my friends, to hunt for hot girls and then someone suggested that dance classes have many hot girls. Hence, I joined Shiamak Davar’s dance class and danced behind all the big stars and in all big award events. And then I knew that someday I will be in the front,” Sushant said.

“He (Shiamak) used to tell me that though I am not one of his finest dancers but still he keeps me in the front row because I have the charm to address the audience.” Sushant added.

Shiamak had told HT in 2017 that it was him who suggested Sushant to take up acting, even when the actor wanted to finish his engineering. Calling Sushant “fun” who had a “good understanding of the craft”, Shiamak said, “I felt there was something special about him back then. He told me that education was important to him. I told him to try and not worry about failure. He has always, in every way, spoken about me as a teacher. It shows the kind of person he is.”

Taking the huge leap of faith at switching careers, Sushant joined Barry John’s acting classes. In fact it was here, when he realised that acting was his actual calling. Calling the decision a turning point in his life, Sushant told TOI in 2011, “The entire credit goes to my theatre teacher Barry John who for the first six months did not speak a single word to me about my performance, other than taking notes in his diary. But at the end of my graduation I got a ‘B’ grade and everyone else got a ‘C’. Barry called me aside and said, ‘You are good. Think about acting as a career option.’ Since then there has been no looking back for me.”

Sushant’s decision to move to Mumbai, however, came with its own hardships. In order to sustain, Sushant picked small jobs while also taking up theatre. He worked with Nadira Babbar’s theatre group Ekjute for two and a half years.

His theatre days gave him a big push and during one such performance at the Prithvi Theatre, the casting team of Balaji Telefilms approached him to audition. Sushant ended up bagging the second lead role of Preet Juneja in Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil (2008–2009). Soon after, Pavitra Rishta happened where played the main lead Manav Deshmukh for two years. He also fell in love with his co-star Ankita Lokhande and had a long relationship.

Manav was a life altering character for Sushant. He made his Bollywood debut with Kai Po Che in 2013. Sushant passed away on June 14, 2020 at his Mumbai residence.

Happy birthday, Sushant Singh Rajput!