Sushant Singh Rajput did months of hard work for a big Bollywood role. He later cried when the studio dropped him, reveals Shekhar Kapur

More than a decade after the ambitious film Paani was first discussed, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has spoken in detail about what went wrong with the project. The director recently recalled that late actor Sushant Singh Rajput had already spent six months preparing for the role before the production company decided not to move forward with him.

The film was originally being developed with Yash Raj Films (YRF), headed by Aditya Chopra. However, creative differences eventually led to the project being halted even before filming could begin.

A long-delayed project that never took off

In 2014, reports said Paani would finally go into production after years of delays. The futuristic film, set in 2050 during a severe global water crisis, was first linked to Hrithik Roshan before Sushant Singh Rajput was cast as the lead. However, despite the early buzz around the project, it never moved to the production stage after the studio changed its decision on casting, director Shekhar Kapur later told The Lallantop.


“I couldn’t even start Paani’s production (unlike some other films of Kapur that were shelved midway). By the time YRF decided that they wouldn’t cast Sushant, I had already been rehearsing with him for six months. After hearing their decision, I went back to the West. I had only come to India to do Paani. However, I haven’t abandoned the project.”

Creative differences with YRF

Kapur also shared how the arrangement between him and Aditya Chopra had been structured from the start. According to him, the two had divided responsibilities between business and creative control, but eventually realised their working styles did not align.

Director Shekhar Kapur said that when he partnered with Yash Raj Films, the understanding with Aditya Chopra was clear. Chopra would manage the business side of the project, while Kapur would have complete creative control over the film. However, during a conversation over breakfast, Chopra told him that his usual way of working at YRF involved closely supervising directors throughout the process to ensure the film turned out well. Since their agreement gave Kapur full creative authority, Chopra felt he would not be able to operate in his usual way.

Kapur explained that the decision to stop the project was not the result of any dispute. Instead, both of them realised that their working styles and creative approaches were not aligned. Because of this, YRF chose not to proceed with the film, which eventually brought Paani to a halt. Despite the setback, Kapur has said that he has not completely given up on the project and still hopes it could be made someday.

Sushant’s dedication to the role

Kapur also remembered Sushant’s approach to acting. The director said the actor was extremely focused on preparation and would often rehearse repeatedly to improve his performance.

In an interview with Filmfare, he recalled how committed the actor had been during the preparation phase. “He was obsessive about doing everything well, whether it was exercising or rehearsals. Some time, I'll show you his rehearsals for Paani. He was obsessive about it. He would call me. He would come to my house at night and say 'how do you think I did that?'”

He also said that during the time they worked together, he did not notice anything unusual about Sushant’s mental health and mainly saw him as a deeply committed performer.

“He was very obsessive about the role. I didn’t notice anything different in him. He was an obsessive actor. As a director, that’s what I needed. I didn’t notice anything else abnormal about him. That may also be because I didn’t know him personally.”

An emotional moment when the film stopped

Kapur has previously spoken about how difficult it was for both him and the actor when the project eventually collapsed. The filmmaker said Sushant had become very attached to the film.

“Jab film bandh ho gayi and he realised he wasn’t doing the film, bohot roya woh. Main bhi roya. Woh rota tha toh main bhi rota tha saath-saath because I was also passionately and deeply involved with it. Humari zindagiyaan hi kuch aisi hoti hai - ups and downs.”

Sushant, who rose to fame with films like Kai Po Che!, passed away on June 14, 2020 at his residence in Mumbai. Even now, Kapur says he has not completely given up on Paani and still hopes the film might be made someday.