Mumbai, June 15: Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide has shocked the entire country and sent shockwaves in the entire Indian film industry. He was 34.
Sushant - who became a household name - after essaying the role of former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the latter's biopic. Sushant's penchant for perfection and zeal to look MS Dhoni in every frame earned him laurels.
He closely observed Dhoni's stance, walking style, posture, etc. to look as convincing on the screen as possible. He spent nine months with former India wicketkeeper Kiran More to learn the tricks of the trade and practised tirelessly to perfect Dhoni's signature shot 'the helicopter'.
Sushant Singh Rajput commits suicide: Sportspersons condole MS Dhoni biopic actor's death
Sushant didn't just impress the fans with his cricketing skills, in fact, he even forced cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar to stand and notice his cricketing skills during a practice session in Mumbai.
More - who posted a heartfelt message on Twitter after hearing about Sushant's demise - told The Indian Express that after watching Sushant bat, Sachin had inquired about him and the Master Blaster even claimed the actor could have played professional cricket if he wanted to.
Gone too soon my friend, says Kiran More who trained Sushant Singh Rajput for MS Dhoni biopic
"I remember the moment when Sachin Tendulkar was left stunned when he saw Sushant Singh batting. Sushant was working on a biopic of MS Dhoni and I was asked by the director Neeraj Pandey and the producer Arun Pandey to coach him on wicketkeeping and batting. A few weeks into the training, I remember Sushant practising the famous Helicopter shot of Dhoni. That's when Tendulkar came to the training ground at BKC Bandra, a Mumbai suburb," More told Indian Express.
"Tendulkar was watching from the gallery and when I met him later, after practice, he asked me, "'Who is this boy? He is batting so well. Itni achi batting kar rah hai!' I told him that it's the actor Sushant, who is preparing for a biopic on Dhoni. Tendulkar was so shocked and said, 'he can play proper professional cricket if he wants to. He seems that good'," More added.
Rajput made a storybook transition from a Patna boy to television star and then the starry lights of the Hindi film industry. He was the youngest of five siblings and is survived by his father and four sisters.
Doctors at Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital, Mumbai conducted postmortem on the body of the actor and the preliminary postmortem report has revealed that the cause of the actor's death was asphyxia due to hanging.