Rajkummar Rao remembers Sushant Singh Rajput on ‘Kai Po Che!’ anniversary

Actor misses late star on the eighth anniversary of the film that propelled them to fame

Cast and crew of the critically acclaimed film Kai Po Che! celebrated its eighth anniversary and remembered actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who made his Bollywood debut with the hit.

Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, Kai Po Che! released on February 22, 2013 and was based on author Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life.

Set in Gujarat, Kai Po Che! revolves around the story of three friends – played by Rajput, Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh – as they navigate their way through the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, burning of the Godhra train in 2002 and subsequent riots.

Kapoor confessed he is in awe of  the love the film continues to receive but is heartbroken by the absence of Rajput, who was found dead in his Bandra apartment in June last year. The director called Rajput a "crown jewel", whose loss was unquantifiable, reported the Hindustan Times.

Rajput forayed into films with Kai Po Che! after proving his metal on TV with the hit show Pavitra Rishta.

The film propelled him to stardom, following which he nabbed the leading role in Yash Raj Films' Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Rajkumar Hirani's PK (2014). He went on to headline blockbusters like the 2016 biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Nitesh Tiwari's Chhichhore and was reunited with Kapoor for romantic-drama Kedarnath in 2018.

Sharing the poster of the film on his Instagram story, Rao said Kai Po Che! allowed the actor in him to grow and become more empathetic. "It’s like it was yesterday when Sushant, Amit and I were shooting for the film. You are being missed my dearest @sushantsinghrajput.”

Kai Po Che became the turning point of Rao’s career too, and from there on, he featured in films like 2014's hit Queen and 2015 drama Aligarh. Sadh shared Rao's story and explained how celebrating the film's eighth anniversary was a bittersweet feeling. "Something we cherish for life... and some void..."

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