Why Sushant is the next Shah Rukh Khan N:21

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput arrives at filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's birthday bash. (Sanskrit Media and Entertainment)

Most Indian television actors dream of crossing over to Bollywood, but very few eventually make it to the big league.

Shah Rukh Khan would probably be the only actor living that ever eluding, quintessential Bollywood dream.

His success story is legendary. He was fairly unknown among the Bollywood crowd and hadinitially started out in the Delhi theatre circuit. Yet, he stepped in effortlessly, charmed the industry and the audience, and owned his spot in B-wood.

He was unstoppable, and is continuing his reign.

Now, it appears, there's another fresher to step into his shoes.

Armed with nothing more than a passion for acting, zeal to excel and a charming smile, new-actor-on-the-block Sushant Singh Rajput reminds us of the infectious, boyish-charm that SRK had exuded when he had first enthralled the Hindi movie industry.

Much like SRK, he too hails from a humble, non-Bollywood background and had lived most of his life in the rustic by-lanes of India's capital city Delhi.

Again, like King Khan he, too, was initially hooked to the city's theatre scene before attempting a career in television.

If TV serial Fauji' helped turn SRK into an overnight star, Sushant's Pavithra Rishta' has also made him an instant rage.

While, SRK moved to the movies after his second TV series Circus', Sushant took his time and enjoyed his telly space a little longer.

Probably, with so many popular TV stars unable to relive SRK's success run, Sushant might've taken his time to test the waters before taking the final plunge.

SRK burst into the scene in 1992 with romantic drama Deewana', and followed it up with Chamatkar', Idiot', Dil Aashna Hai' and the super-hit rom-com Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman'. Heworked overtime and wasn't choosy, and took on any project that came his way.

Sushant, however, appears a little more discerning, and picks and chooses his projects wisely. A quality, he now attributes to SRK.

"I told Shah Rukh when I met him that I'm an actor because of him," he announced to the Indian media.

"When I used to watch his films earlier, I used to feel that acting as a profession is so powerful, you can convince people of something which you're not. Or maybe it's so larger than life and you can hide behind all these interesting and exciting characters. But I didn't take acting seriously then."

His decision to endorse fizzy drink and even, a fairness cream brand, could be attributed to SRK's influence on him.

And, much like SRK, Sushant's movie career has suddenly spiralled into dizzying heights.

After just two films - Kai Po Che' and Shudh Desi Romance' - Sushant is now hot property in Bollywood, with every known filmmaker queuing up outside his house with plum movie offers.

The latest to be smitten is renowned filmmaker Shekar Kapur, who has signed him on for Paani' after Hrithik Roshan walked out of it.

Even the illustrious Yash Raj banner, which has blatantly favoured Shah Rukh, has shown similar affection for Sushant.

While most actors are struggling to nail big projects, Sushant is already working with Aamir Khan in Peekay' and the much-anticipated Detective Byomkesh Bakshy'.

Even Sushant's love story resembles that of SRK's.

Both actors never hid their love stories and were passionate lovers off-screen as well.

Stories of how SRK wooed Gauri are legendary, much like that of Sushant's real love affair with his TV co-star Ankita Lokhande.

In fact, Sushant even claims he sought SRK's help, albeit through his movies, to learn how to woo his woman.

"I tried all the tricks I picked up from watching those romantic Shah Rukh Khan movies," he had told during one of his earlier interviews.

And, like SRK, Sushant is extremely guarded about his family, and is close to his sisters.

With so many uncanny similarities in their life on-screen and off, let's just hope Sushant remains the true (and worthy) successor to SRK's untouched supremacy.