Several people are sharing fond memories of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, after his death on Sunday. One of them is writer-director Charudutt Acharya, whose father PB Acharya was the governor of Assam from 2014-19.
In a Facebook post, Acharya has recalled how Sushant visited the state when it was ravaged by floods in 2018, and made a donation of Rs 1.25 crore, with ‘no fanfare’.
He wrote, “The news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has plunged my family in a pall of sadness. All four of us were HUGE fans. The missus had a special soft corner for him, since his super hit Pavitra Rishta serial days. She would always tell me, ‘Charu see this boy will go very far. He will be the next SRK from TV. Just watch…’ He was getting there…and now this…”
Acharya continued, “But one person who is genuinely gutted without having seen a single serial or movie of Sushant Singh, is my father PB Acharya. From 2014 to 2019, my father was the Governor of the state of Nagaland. In 2018, a massive flood had ravaged the state. The government of Nagaland had put out an appeal to all the citizens of the country to donate to the CM’s Flood Relief Fund. At that time, Sushant was shooting in Delhi.”
Sushant came to Dimapur, and handed over a cheque of Rs 1.25 crores to the CM Neiphiu Rio. “There was no fanfare. There was no major publicity. (He had made a similar quiet donation of 1.25 crores to the Kerala CM’s Fund too),” Acharya added. “Later, he called my father in Kohima and spoke quite warmly. My father thanked him for his kind and large hearted gesture and invited him to Kohima. Sushant expressed his desire to visit Kohima too. But the journey from Dimapur to Kohima is only by road and takes four hours. And in the flood situation, it could have taken much longer. And Sushant had to rush back to Delhi for his shoot.”
Acharya concluded, “So he returned to Delhi from Dimapur itself, promising to visit Kohima and the rest of the state, someday soon. That never happend. And now, most unfortunately, will not happen ever. But the people of Nagaland and the Government of Nagaland will remember Sushant Singh Rajput for ever. Yeh hoti hai asli hero ki entry.”
At the time, Sushant had replied to the CM’s gratitude, and written in a tweet, “Thank you Sir for your precious time. We,with our full force and determination would work incessantly till the time our #Nagaland is perfectly restored. And this wonderful Gong does make a wonderful sound of friendship. Thanks once again Sir.”
