A file photo of Sushant Singh Rajput and Mukesh Chhabra. (courtesy: castingchhabra)

New Delhi:

Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput once made a promise to casting director Mukesh Chhabra and he stood by his words. The actor had promised to work with Mukesh in his first directorial venture and so he did in his last project Dil Bechara. An emotional Mukesh Chhabra, who makes his Bollywood debut as a director with the film, shared a post remembering Sushant Singh Rajput, who was not just his film’s lead actor, he was also “a dear friend.” Sharing the news of the film’s release on July 24 on Disney+Hotstar, Mukesh Chhabra wrote: “Sushant was not just the hero of my debut film as a director but he was a dear friend who stood by me through thick and thin. We had been close right from Kai Po Che! (Sushant’s debut film) to Dil Bechara. He had promised me that he would be in my first film. So many plans were made together, so many dreams were dreamt together but I never imagined that I would be releasing this film without him.”

The film, which will be releasing on an OTT platform, will be available to all subscribers as well as non-subscribers, Mukesh Chhabra revealed in his post. “There can be no better way to celebrate him and his talent. He always showered immense love on me while I was making it and his love will guide us as we release it. And I’m glad that the Producers have made it available for everyone to watch. We are going to love and celebrate you my friend. I can visualise you with your beautiful smile blessing us from up above. Love you,” he wrote.

Read Mukesh Chhabra’s post here:

Mukesh Chhabra was one of the few members of the film fraternity to attend the actor’s funeral in Mumbai, along with Sushant’s Raabta co-star Kriti Sanon, his Chhichhore co-stars Shraddha Kapoor and Varun Sharma, and Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi. Mukesh Chhabra, in his farewell note for Sushant, had described the Kedarnath actor as his “brother.” He wrote: “Sushant was like a brother to me, it is so unfortunate and heartbreaking and I cannot even put it down in words. Sushant was an introvert but he was really intelligent and talented beyond words. The industry has lost a gem, an irreplaceable gem. Deeply saddened and shocked. I still can’t believe it. Our endless conversations have come to an abrupt end. I hope you are in a better place my brother, will always miss you and love you.”

Dil Bechara, inspired by John Green’s book The Fault In Our Stars, also stars Sanjana Sanghi and Saif Ali Khan (in a cameo appearance). AR Rahman has composed the music for the film and Fox Star Studios has produced the film, which had earlier backed the 2016 film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and the 2019 film Chhichhore – both starring late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, died by suicide, said police. After starring as the lead on the show Pavitra Rishta, Sushant Singh Rajput made his film debut in 2013’s Kai Po Che!. He featured in films like Kedarnath, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Raabta and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Mr Rajput was last seen in 2019’s Drive.

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