Parineeti Chopra, who's basking in the success of her series debut with Netflix's Shaque, fondly recalled her Shuddh Desi Romance co-star Sushant Singh Rajput during a promotional event. Parineeti, who co-starred with Sushant Singh Rajput in the 2013 romantic-comedy, said that she had never seen someone cheering for her from the bottom of his heart. Apart from their filmy journey, the lead couple also used to share an ‘academic' inclination.
During the shoot of the film Shuddh Desi Romance, Parineeti was announced as the National Award winner (Special Mention) for her debut film Ishaqzaade.
Sharing Sushant's emotional outburst at the incident, Parineeti told Zoom, ‘The National Award was announced. I was sitting with both of them (Rishi Kapoor, Sushant). Hamari chutti thi (It was an off day for us). We were sitting in the hotel by the poolside. And again I got a Karan's (Johar) message. It said, “Mubarak ho”. I was wondering what this was for. Sushant got excited and said he would find out the reason.
‘He got to know that the National Awards were announced. I have never seen somebody get so excited, so happy for me. He stood up on those pool-deck chairs. He started shouting, “Main National Award winner ke saath kaam kar raha hoon”. I was also crazy. Rishi Sir said, “Both of you have gone crazy. You have lost your minds”. Sushant hugged me. I started crying.
‘He's the one who went on to the set the next day and he announced that it happened. He was like my buddy. He was like my cheerleader,' Parineeti added.
Parineeti was a banker before joining films, while Sushant was an engineer before coming to films. By virtue of academics, Parineeti shared she used to have a lot of conversations with him beyond films.
‘We were supposed to do another film together with Homi (Adajania). But it never worked out. Sushant and I used to have academic talks. I am also a banker by qualification. He had done something before joining films. So we would talk about stars, economics. He really used to get me. I used to get him.
'We really used to get each other. He was the best. He is lovely,' Parineeti fondly remembered him.
Directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra, Shuddh Desi Romance was a hit in India.
It screened in the Gala Presentation section of the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his Bandra apartment in Mumbai in June 2020.
In September 2020, Rhea Chakraborty was arrested and sent to Mumbai's Byculla Jail on drug charges related to the Sushant Singh Rajput case. She was accused of procuring and supplying drugs to the late actor. The actress was granted bail after 28 days.
