Janam kab lena hai aur marna kab hai, hum decide nahi kar sakte.
Par kaise jeena hai, woh hum decide kar sakte hain.
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since Sushant Singh Rajput left us. He was not only an actor, he was a thinker, a dreamer, who made us believe in the magic of chasing stars, both on-screen and beyond.
Over the years he was offered several films that he could not do for various reasons. While it may be very meaty and masaledar to gossip about conspiracies, actors not doing films is a very common thing across the world.
Sometimes it may be the change of mind for a director to cast somebody else, or it may be date issues with the ongoing schedule of the actor. Sometimes the actors themselves leave films due to creative differences. Sometimes the films are shelved because the producers change their minds, and sometimes the directors promises a film to an actor but is unable to find a producer or studio to finance it. And yes, sometimes it’s nepotism and camp politics.
But what I want to tell everyone is, these casting information are very limited and do not always come out in the media. And with time a lot of these turn into conspiracy theories, half truths and cooked up stories. But the truth is, if you work in the film industry or any industry, you will realize that there are situations where nobody is at fault. Everything is not planning and plotting like vamps in a tv serial.
Here is the list of films where we might have seen Sushant Singh Rajput over the years –
1) Goliyon Ki Raasleela – Ram Leela
Sanjay Leela Bhansali first offered Ram-Leela to Sushant Singh Rajpur but he could not do it due to date issues. The 3 film deal with Yrf was also one of the reasons. The movie later went to Ranveer Singh and it became a success.
Rumours were started that Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat were also offered to him but SLB never really offered them to Sushant.
2. Half Girlfriend
Chetan Bhagat had announced that a film was being made on his book by the same name and sushant Singh Rajput was to star in it. However, the film later went on to star Arjun Kapoor.
While fans have been crying foul and claiming nepotism as the reason for the replacement, Sushant had actually set the record straight saying that he had signed a Dinesh Vijan film (Raabta) long before Half Girlfriend.
Owing to some confusion, he was told both films could be shot simultaneously. However as both films had to be shot in a particular month, he opted out of Half Girlfriend as he had committed to Dinesh Vijan first.
3. Hasee Toh Phasee
Sushant Singh Rajput was offered the lead role in the movie Hasee Toh Phasee by Anurag Kashyap (Phantom Films). However, he ultimately chose to do Shuddh Desi Romance instead, reportedly because he was seeking validation from Yash Raj Films. Anurag Kashyap also mentioned that Sushant later chose Drive over another film because he wanted to work with Dharma Productions.
The role later went to Sidharth Malhotra.
4. Befikre
Aditya Chopra was impressed by Sushant Singh Rajput’s performance in Shuddh Desi Romance and offered him Befikre. But Sushant rejected the film himself as he did not like the script. So, he could have done Befikre, but chose not to.
5. Kabir Singh
Kabir Singh was offered to Sushant Singh Rajput but he could not do it due to scheduling conflicts and prior commitments.
While Kiara was the first choice for the female lead, things could not materialise and the offer went to Tara Sutaria. But she left the film when a delay in the production of her debut film Student of the Year 2 (2019) caused scheduling conflicts. The makers went back to Kiara Advani and she finally played the part.
6. Andhadhun
Sushant Singh Rajput was offered the lead role in the movie Andhadhun. However, he turned it down himself due to creative differences with director Sriram Raghavan.
The role was then given to Ayushmann Khurrana, who received critical acclaim for his performance.
7. Romeo Akbar Walter
Sushant Singh Rajput was initially offered the lead role in Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW) but ultimately had to step down due to scheduling conflicts. He even did some promos and the film was officially announced with him.
At that time he was part of multiple movies and as it happens, some movies got delayed and he had to say no to Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), as the shoot hasn’t started and he needed to complete his prior commitments.
The role later went to John Abraham.
8. Fitoor
Sushant Singh Rajput debuted with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che, and was initially set to star in the director’s next film, Fitoor.
The shooting dates for Fitoor were pushed multiple times—from October 2013 to March 2014, and then to July 2014. Unfortunately, this clashed with the dates Sushant had already committed to another project, Paani, directed by Shekhar Kapur. Although Paani was eventually shelved, the scheduling issues forced Sushant to opt out of Fitoor.
9. Chandu Champion
Actor Bhuvan Arora revealed that Sushant Singh Rajput held the rights of Murlikant Petkar’s story and had also started preparing for it. But after his demise, the film was stalled and later made with Kartik Aaryan in the lead, co-starring Bhuvan Arora.
Films That Never Got Made
10. Paani
Sushant Singh Rajput was offered the lead role in the movie Paani, directed by Shekhar Kapur. However, the film was ultimately shelved due to Yash Raj Films backing out of the project. Sushant was reportedly very excited about the film and had even turned down other offers in anticipation of working on Paani.
Shekhar Kapur’s list of shelved films include 10+ names.
11. Chanda Mama Door Ke
Sushant Singh Rajput was offered and signed on to play the lead role of an astronaut in the film Chanda Mama Door Ke. He had even trained at NASA for the role, as it was meant to be India’s first space film.
However, the project was delayed and eventually shelved due to budget issues and date conflicts with other projects.
Director Sanjay Puran Singh said that he will make the film some day as a tribute to the late actor.
12. Saare Jahaan Se Achcha
This biopic of Rakesh Sharma was initially offered to Shah Rukh Khan. Later reports came that Sushant Singh Rajput was also being considered for the film. However, it is not clear whether he was formally offered the film or not.
The film later went to Aamir Khan and then Vicky Kaushal. Currently, there is no update on the film.
13. Vande Bharatam
Sushant Singh Rajput was offered the chance to co-produce and star in a patriotic film titled Vande Bharatam. by his friend, producer Sandip Ssingh. The film was intended to be Sandip Ssingh’s directorial debut.
After Sushant’s death, Sandip Ssingh stated that the film would be a tribute to Sushant’s memory.
14. Takadum
In June 2016, director Homi Adajania had announced Takadum starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra and Irrfan Khan, in the lead roles. Later, the film was put on the back-burner by the director himself.
Here’s what he said, “I was very happy with the initial story. It’s a story based in New York in English and I was trying to put in the Mumbai set up. When we translated it, I felt people like this don’t exist in Mumbai I felt it was forced.”
15. Rifleman
On Army Day (January 15), Sushant Singh Rajput announced on his social media that he would be starring in a film titled Rifleman, which was a biopic based on the life of Jaswant Singh Rawat, a soldier who fought in the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
However, the project faced legal issues because multiple parties claimed to have acquired the rights to the story from different family members of Jaswant Singh Rawat. The film was ultimately shelved.
16. Untitled Romantic Drama
A romantic drama with Sushant Singh Rajput and Rhea Chakraborty was announced with director Rumi Jaffery (God Tussi Great Ho, Chehre), which was to be shot in London.
The project was initially delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then tragically halted by Sushant’s death.
17. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy 2
Prior to release, director Dibakar Banerjee expressed interest in creating a franchise based around Byomkesh Bakshy, if the first film performed well. After its release, Banerjee stated that he had the sequel ready and was hoping to start soon. But the film was never green-lit by Yash Raj Films.
While these films never saw him on screen, Sushant Singh Rajput’s passion for cinema and his unforgettable performances continue to inspire us every day.
Also read: Housefull 5 Movie Review
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