Rajput acted on screen, but his real life had many more roles.
It’s often said that curiosity is at the heart of art. Sushant Singh Rajput lived by that throughout his life. More than an actor, he was a seeker. A mind that never stopped wondering, learning, exploring. He dove deep into every subject with childlike excitement and relentless passion, and that boundless curiosity is what made him such a brilliant artist. As Manoj Bajpayee once said, “What I automatically recall about Sushant is how much interest he had about everything in life.”
On Rajput's death anniversary, we look back at some of the lesser-known fields he trained in and celebrate the man who wanted to learn everything, and in doing so, inspired millions.
For a sequence in 'Raabta', Rajput needed to look muscular and showcase great combat skills. And he realized that he needed to learn martial arts in order to bring perfection to the screen.
The actor and his team initially tried to find a good martial arts trainer in Mumbai. However, as they couldn't find one, he flew to Bangkok and trained in martial arts for a few weeks.
Sushant Singh Rajput heads to Bangkok for martial arts traininghttps://t.co/I77EQFg89z pic.twitter.com/ATGSv6CCzj
— HT Entertainment (@htshowbiz) June 22, 2016
(Credit: HT Entertainment)
According to some reports, he went through three weeks of hard-core weapons and gymnastics training in Bangkok. He also maintained a strict diet and workout regimen to get the perfect physique.
Long before fame, Rajput was a professional dancer and was a part of Shiamak Davar’s troupe. He worked as a background dancer in several Bollywood numbers, including the title track in 'Dhoom 2'.
(Credit: sushantrajput_fan.club)
Later, that training helped him in his own films. Trained by both Davar and Ashley Lobo, he brought grace and soul to every dance sequence—from the raw charm of 'Kai Po Che!' to the stylish moves in 'Shuddh Desi Romance'. “Dance is where I lose myself,” he once said. It showed.
In 2017, for a film titled 'Chanda Mama Door Ke', he trained at NASA, wearing multi-layered spacesuits, experiencing zero gravity, and learning space simulations. The film unfortunately never got made, but the training changed him. “I don’t want to act like an astronaut. I want to feel like one,” he said.
Sushant Singh Rajput to undergo special training at NASA's Space & Rocket Center... Enacts the part of an astronaut in #ChandaMamaDoorKe... pic.twitter.com/W4b9BYELCE
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) August 2, 2017
(Credit: taran adarsh)
Rajput was a brilliant student in his school and college days and was deeply passionate about physics. His interest in quantum physics shaped how he saw the world and his characters. He said, “The universe is strange and beautiful. It’s all about probabilities.”
I use a #Meade600Lx telescope to stargaze from 4.30-5.30 am with Vedic hymns (headphones).
— Sushant Singh Rajput (@itsSSR) August 21, 2018
Next upgrade is to get the feedback on virtual reality headset with (spectrometer) to know live what’s happening on the celestial body I’m looking at through my telescope.
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(Credit: Sushant Singh Rajput)
In his Mumbai home, he set up a telescope and spent hours mapping constellations. He read Hawking and Sagan, enrolled in online astronomy courses, and often spoke about the stars in interviews and social media. He once dreamed of stargazing in Chile’s Atacama Desert. For him, the cosmos was a personal connection to the infinite.
Rajput studied coding and all during his engineering days. With time, he trained in Python and explored artificial intelligence and VR. He wanted to tell stories that combined art with technology—through immersive, interactive formats. He often shared glimpses of his VR experiments on social media. He aspired to make a meaningful impact in the tech world, but fate had a different course in mind.
Notably, in 2018, he co-founded Innsaei Ventures—a platform focused on education of tech, AI, and intellectual property. “I want to support people who dream big,” he said. The startup was his way of merging intellect, creativity, and impact.
On every set, Rajput was a student. He watched, questioned, and absorbed—from Dibakar Banerjee to Rajkumar Hirani. He turned a corner of his home into a lab for AR and VR storytelling, even drafting ideas for a science fiction film. He didn’t get to direct, but his vision was clear: stories that moved people, challenged them, made them think.
More than anything, Sushant Singh Rajput wanted to understand the human soul. He read endlessly, questioned deeply, and poured those reflections into his roles. In his words, “Keep asking questions, keep dreaming big.”
