Sushant Singh Rajput's father said, 'Beta, Degree le leta' after he Gave up Stanford Scholarship to become a Back-up dancer!

Sushant Singh Rajput took his own life by hanging himself from the ceiling fan of his residence in Bandra, Mumbai. His demise shocked the nation and fans are mourning the loss of a talented actor. Sushant not only acted in his films, he rather made a close connection with his audience. This has motivated his fans to raise their voices against ‘Nepotism’.

Lynching on every opportunity he recieved, Sushant made the most of his chances and even took drastic steps in regards to his career choices. Being a self-confessed nerd, he had given up his degree and a scholarship at Stanford to come and struggle in Mumbai.

In an interview with Hindustan Times the Sonchiriya actor reevaluated his days of engineering and struggle. Remembering how he would lip sync to Shah Rukh Khan’s Sooraj Hua Madham I front of the mirror, he said, “Honestly, even if I would’ve been offered a role back then, I would’ve refused because I was a complete introvert. The lip-syncing and posing would happen only in front of the mirror, with just me in the audience. I wanted to be the head boy in my school but, when I had to give a speech, I didn’t go to school that day. I didn’t want any attention.”

He even addressed his Bollywood debut and refused to call it ‘struggle’. Sushant said, “Many would call the years before I hit Bollywood the struggling period but not me. I was not struggling. I was already doing what I loved. Then, I felt the need to meet a girl, and that led me to Shiamak Davar’s group. My life went into a spin from that point on. Instead of heading to Stanford University from where I had a scholarship offer, I dropped out of college and landed in Versova, in a 1RK (room kitchen) that I shared with six others. You can imagine the reaction at home.”

The Chichore actor treasured performing arts and he even gave up engineering college for the same. He talked about his final year in college and how he tried to convince his parents about acting. Sushant also recalled how his father would be excited to show recent clippings of him that made his father proud. 

It was 2006, my final year in college, when I dropped this bomb at home. They were shocked! So shocked that they couldn’t say anything and I took their silence as their approval…. It was hard at that time but now it’s different. My dad loves it when, on his walks, people call out to him, show him some recent clipping of me… he is really proud of me. But even today, almost all our conversations end with “beta, degree le leta.”

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For the uninitiated, Actor Sushant Singh Rajput started off his career with television and made a name for himself through romantic drama Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil (2008), followed by a starring role in Zee TV's popular soap opera Pavitra Rishta (2009–2011).

In a career span of 12 years, Sushant made his Bollywood debut in 2013 without any filmy name or any support. He went on to create a niche for himself with Abhishek Kapoor’s Kai Po Che! (2013). Later he went on to star in some of the best films including, M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016), Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! (2015), Sonchiriya (2019), Chhichhore (2019) and many more.