Kerala mourns for Sushant Singh Rajput

Serin Thankam Sam

It was just a month ago that Malayalis had to come to terms with the loss of versatile actor Irrfaan Khan. A majority of Malayalis, including Mollywood celebrities, felt personal about his unexpected demise. This time it was Sushant Singh Rajput’s passing away on Sunday that left Keralites in unbearable shock. The reason is that the actor had a special connection with the people of Kerala.

Sushant made a generous contribution to Kerala nearly two years ago when the State was in the grip of the worst flood of the century. In August 2018, an Instagram user tagged actor Sushanth Singh Rajput in a post and said he wanted to donate to the Kerala floods but did not have the money to do so. Sushant saw the tweet and promised to donate a sum of Rs.1 crore on his behalf, towards Kerala flood relief. Later, Sushant posted the screenshot showing his contribution to the CM’s Relief Fund in his Twitter handle.

Though he was an actor primarily working in Bollywood, it t did not stop Sushan from calling the State my Kerala. His post from August 2018 read: “As promised my friend, @subhamranjan66, what you wanted to do has been done. You delivered exactly when it was needed. Lots of love. FLY.Cheers.#My Kerala #Kerala Relief Funds.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan remembered the contribution in a tweet. Another Twitter handle of a student, Arya, recalled Sushanth’s kind gesture. She tweeted, “I remember how I contacted # Sushanth Singh Rajput during the Kerala floods 2018 to ask him to send more cleaning supplies. I had just moved from the camp and found out that he was helping a lot. Such a kind soul he was. # RIP.” Malayali netizens recalled the actor’s contribution and applauded his acting through several tribute videos.

Sushant Singh Rajput was last seen on the silver screen in Nitesh Tiwari directed ‘Chhichorre’ which coincidentally dealt with societal pressures and suicidal thoughts. The 2019 release was a massive hit. Sushant committed suicide on June 14 in his apartment in Bandra, Mumbai.