Sushant Singh Rajput was ‘oversensitive’, would get ‘upset with people’ very easily: Mukesh Chhabra opens up about his ‘best friend’

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who made his directorial debut with the 2020 film Dil Bechara starring Sushant Singh Rajput, spoke about the late actor’s mental health struggles. In an interview with The Lallantop, Mukesh said that he finds it difficult to listen to the film’s soundtrack album because the memories associated with them are so sad. He said that most people don’t listen to Dil Bechara’s music for similar reasons, which is unfortunate, because he feels that the music is very good.

“He was my best friend,” Mukesh said. Asked if he had any inkling about his struggles, Mukesh said no. “It was during the pandemic. If I knew what he was going through, I would’ve gone and spoken to him. We used to meet very often. From his first film to his last one, our relationship remained strong.” Asked if Sushant was upset about being dropped from big projects, Mukesh said, “He would get affected very easily. He would get upset with people very easily. He would get very upset if he read a negative article about himself. He was an oversensitive person, we all are.” Mukesh praised Sushant’s determination to give everything he had in him to his films.

Sushant died in 2020 of a reported suicide. An investigation was launched into his death by the CBI, but findings have yet to be reported. Sushant’s death became a national obsession for several months during the first lockdown, and reshaped the industry in many ways. It brought conversations about nepotism to the fore, made many prominent voices retreat from social media, and even pushed Karan Johar to alter the tone of his chat show, Koffee with Karan.

Dil Bechara, co-starring debutante Sanjana Sanghi, was the Hindi remake of The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. The movie debuted on Disney+ Hotstar a few weeks after Sushant’s death.