(This story is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on September 22 2016.)
Sushant Singh Rajput has been living, sleeping and waking up to the life of Captain Cool, MS Dhoni for the last couple of years. He quips, “If acting doesn’t happen next year, I could be a professional cricketer.” Ah, well! From the time he began his film career, Sushant has picked up non-formulaic projects and he maintains, “I am a selfish actor. When you are telling the audience that it is a good film, it better be a good one. I do not take my success and failures seriously.”
The Quint chats with Sushant Singh Rajput about how it feels to don India’s Jersey number 7.
Q: Was transforming yourself into someone who exists in real life tougher than any other fictional character you have portrayed till now?
Sushant Singh Rajput: Just like in every film, what we are supposed to do as actors is to convince ourselves that we are the characters that we are playing. When you do a fictional character, you don’t have a reference point. But while playing Dhoni, I had a reference point. Be it his playing style, mannerism, body language, diction. I had to make sure that I take care of that.
Very quickly I realised that I could be very good in the film as an actor or a cricketer, but I won’t be convincing If I don’t remind you of Dhoni. We took care of these things so there is no jerk and worked hard towards understanding the guy and becoming him in the head.
Q: Is that all? Come on, spill the beans.
Sushant Singh Rajput: It was not hard, because if you like what you do then your frame of reference is not hard work. People around would say that he is working so hard but this is what you chose and your interest lies in it. We have structured the preparation in three different ways. Firstly, we did a lot of readings with Neeraj Pandey, knowing the intent of the film and the bottom line of each and every scene. Doing my research to get the facts right and then understanding what exactly are we punctuating in each and every scene, while talking about the man. Secondly, we had to get the mannerism right. From the way he plays to getting the diction right, I wanted to make sure that once the shoot begins, I shouldn’t be worrying about these things, as I should be alive in the scene, listening to my co-actors.
I was not jotting down things, but would watch him for hours. Months down the line people started telling me that there is some resemblance between him and me. Then I thought to myself, ‘Yes I am going in the right direction.’
The third thing was, that I had to learn a completely new skill - cricket. I had to convince myself that I was MS and I need to remind you of his style on-screen. Kiran More, who is an ex-wicket keeper was training me. The first four months was just learning cricket, so I had to look and feel like a cricketer. Then we moved to MCA, where a team of analysts and physiotherapists were working together. The analyst would break down each and every shot in different frames, carefully analysing the shift of the balance, and we would play the same shot for three to four days.
Q: You are a big fan of Dhoni, so on any level did it feel surreal playing him?
Sushant Singh Rajput: I am a big fan of his. From watching him play to today, where I can sit next to him to ask questions... more importantly, he answers all my questions! I mean, MS Dhoni is telling you how to hold a bat. It is surreal! There were things that I didn’t know and there were things that I knew, but didn’t understand why he is the way he is. Every time I was very surprised.
I feel, there are films that you do with great directors and great scripts, and you end up being a better actor in the process. But, there are very few films which make you a better person and this is one of those films.
Q: While you are in awe of Dhoni, Neeraj is not. Does that balance the narrative so it remains unbiased?
Sushant Singh Rajput: Absolutely! It got difficult for me because I am his fan. If you are following him for 12 years and he is one of the people you look up to, then to convince yourself that you are him is all the more difficult. But it is always good to not get swayed by the personality. Even in the film, we don’t glorify anything, or hide anything. So that keeps your objectivity in place.
Q: According to Neeraj Pandey, Dhoni’s biggest strength is his mental strength. Were you inspired by his ability to absorb absolutely anything?
Sushant Singh Rajput: I became a better human being. He (Dhoni) is someone who is extremely patient and doesn’t take himself seriously. He is someone who lives in the present. These are the things which completely surprise you. I felt these things for the first time and they will stay with me forever.
Q: Do the rigorous demands of your profession get to you at times?
Sushant Singh Rajput: I remember when I was in school, I would be told to do my homework, and only then I could go out to play from 4 to 5:30 pm. Everyday, I would just wait for the clock to strike 4 and when we would go out to play. That one and a half hours felt like 10 minutes. Today, I am living those one and a half hours. I don’t get realise that I am working hard, and it keeps me up. In my opinion, I am having the time of my life.
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