Sushant Singh Rajput Was Overweight During Kai Po Che! Audition, Reveals Director Abhishek Kapoor

Director Abhishek Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput worked together in Kai Po Che! and Kedarnath

Director Abhishek Kapoor, who has worked with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in celebrated projects like Kai Po Che!  and Kedarnath, recently opened up about the star in an interview. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Abhishek Kapoor talked about his bond with the late actor, who made his Bollywood debut with the filmmaker's Kai Po Che!  “I remember Sushant being very overweight when we auditioned him and my condition to him was that, I showed him a picture of an American actor and I said, ‘You got to look like this because you're a cricketer.' He wouldn't say much. He was not a man of too many words. But in 3 months, he worked so hard and he would be there at six in the morning for cricket practice, the gym training and by the end of it, he looked like it,” he said.

When asked how Abhishek Kapoor – who tends to not repeat actors – came to work with Sushant Singh Rajput again in Kedarnath, the director said that he had offered Sushant Singh Rajput another film Fitoor as well, but it did not work out. Explaining further, he said: “I remember after Kai Po Che!  Sushant was probably one of the most sought-after actors in the business. Every filmmaker was considering him at that time. They loved him in the film… Sushant's character dies [in the film],  and he is a cricketing guy, so a lot of attention went towards him.”

Adding that Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh, who also feature in Kai Po Che!  are also “powerhouse” performers, Abhishek Kapoor said: “I had a connection with him [Sushant Singh Rajput]. I wanted to cast him for Kedarnath. I thought he was just right."