Exclusive: Sushant Singh Rajput's Pavitra Rishta co-star Kishor Mahabole remembers the actor on his birth anniversary, says "Industry lost its gem so soon"

Marathi actor Kishor Mahabole rose to fame with Hindi TV show Pavitra Rishta. The veteran actor played Ankita Lokhande's father on-screen and had a close relationship with the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput who played Manav in the show. On Sushant Singh Rajput 35th birth anniversary today (January 21), while talking to ETimes TV, Kishor reminisced his memories with Sushant, the late actor's likings, habits and said that the industry has lost such a gem very soon. (PC - Instagram)

- Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar

Kishor Mahabole played the role of Sushant's father-in-law on-screen in Pavitra Rishta. Remembering Sushant, Kishor said, "Sushant and I were very close to each other and spent almost 2.5 years together on the same TV show. We both were engineers and always discussed something technical or related to Maths. Everyone used to call me Baba on the set. We used to have intense conversations about each other's craft and work."

Kishor also talked abpout SSR's determination to enter the entertainment industry and said: "While talking to him, I realized that he is not a common man. He always dreamed of doing something different in life. I still remember he would tell me that "Baba mujhe engineering pehle se he nahi karni thi, main interested nahi hoon 10 to 5 job karne mein, mujhe sabse alag karna hai isliye toh main iss field mein aaya hoon." I still wonder if a person was saying this and thought about doing something different in life, how can he commit suicide? I cannot believe this even now'.

Sushant's demise shocked the veteran actor. He said, "I didn't speak to anyone for a day after hearing about his demise. Sushant was a dreamy guy and not a person who could commit suicide. We weren't in touch after he stepped into Bollywood, but it was a heartbreaking news."

Talking about Sushant's likings, Kishor said, "Sushant was totally crazy for cricket. Whenever we used to get a break during our shoot, we used to play cricket outside our shooting location. He was so mad for cricket that he even knew the legendary cricketers' records. One day we sat and discussed something about cricket so he told, me "Baba isne na itne century kiye hai..Iska na itna record hai..Ye cricketer ne waha pe pehle century ki thi". I was so surprised that he knows everything about each and every cricketer and how one can remember so many records and centuries. Apart from this, in between shots also, he used to play cricket games on his phone. He was a true cricket lover". (PC - Instagram)

Talking about Sushant's food habits, Kishor revealed, "Sushant was pure nonvegetarian. He used to love non-veg food like crazy. He also used to share famous non-veg UP style recipes with me that cooked with khada masala. He loved non-veg". (PC - Instagram)

Sushant left the popular TV show Pavitra Rishta midway and shared the reason with Kishor. Kishor said, "Sushant left Pavitra Rishta for a specific reason. The serial took a leap of few years in which Sushant had kids, and the actor didn't like it. He was feeling so uncomfortable and dissatisfied. He told me, "Baba mujhe on-screen 2-3 baccho ka baap nahi banna. Mujhe baap ke roles nahi karne aur agar maine karne chalu kiye aise roles toh ye industry hamesha mujhe baap he banake rakhegi. Mujhe waisi image nahi create karni meri". I supported him at that time because he wanted to go to California for his course, and he also showed me his admission form". (PC - Instagram)

Talking about losing Sushant, Kishor Mahabole said, "He was so soft-spoken and used to talk very less on set with others but he had a special bond with me. He was so naughty. He used to tease me sometimes, and we used to laugh like crazy. He was a gem of a person. I don't know what happened when he went to Bollywood, but I am sure, but the industry lost its gem so soon." (PC - Instagram)

- Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar