In an interview to a senior journalist in the aftermath of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide on June 14, close friend and his first director, Abhishek Kapoor remembers the screening of a film for the media and Bollywood fraternity that's usually held before a movie hits theatres. Kapoor says, typically, no one ever claps or shows public appreciation at the end. He likens Sushant to an actor who would ask, "But, why aren't they clapping?", and one would shrug, "Leave them be; everyone outside [your fans] are clapping."

Validation from peers clearly was important to the young actor, 34, who took his life at his Bandra apartment although success didn't elude him. His last film, Chhichhore, becoming the year's 100-crore club sleeper hit, and Dil Bechara, inspired by John Green's acclaimed book The Fault in our Stars is coming up for a 2020 direct-to-digital release.