Swansong of a star

When a film symbolises final goodbye, what happened to Dil Bechara is exactly what happens. Helpless fans pour in all their love by hitting the like button, a whopping 4.8 million times within 24 hours! Sushant Singh Rajput’s swansong Dil Bechara dropped on Disney Hotstar and the fans caught him one last time. At a rating of 10 on IMDb within minutes of its release, it definitely is beyond the ordinary barometers. Ironically, it’s a love story, of Kizzy and Manny, who are battling cancer, finding love and happiness; rendered tragic not so much by the script, as by the circumstances.

Wrote Bhumi Pednekar taking to her Instagram handle, “Full of emotions, overwhelmed and can’t stop crying. What a class act. So endearing and seamlessly done Sushant. Never experienced something so weirdly painful and beautiful. What a last dance, what a treat to all your fans and loved ones…” Husband- wife Genelia and Ritiesh Deshmukh reserved a much stronger vibe for celebrating the late actor onscreen, with Genelia tweeting, “Sushant Singh Rajput onscreen and I can’t help but whistle.” While hubby Ritiesh writing, “As promised, I am ready with my popcorn. Time to celebrate Sushant Singh Rajput, may you be the brightest star in the sky.”

We don’t know how kind the critics would be if Sushant was here among us, but all we know is since reality crosses paths with art in this tear-jerker, it’s a must-watch! Director Mukesh Chhabra recently let the nation in on little trivia when he revealed that Sushant did not even read the script before giving his nod, thereby keeping his promise of starring in Mukesh’s debut as a director.

Final goodbye

Everyone felt one intense rush of emotions, regret and separation. Of course, expressed in several different ways. Like we all have our means of coming to terms with grief, which may not even align with five stages. Not that the release date needed any sort of shout out, but Ankita Lokhande, Dia Mirza, Rhea Chakraborty and Sara Ali Khan shared their excitement earlier in the day for the 7.30 pm date with Sushant. Sunil Grover did the countdown instead, “In one hour 28 minutes,” he tweeted.

Paying tributes

My buddy #SushantSinghRajput you will be missed so much. I can’t imagine how sad your family must be after seeing #DilBechara. You were the life of this film and the irony is you aren’t in this life anymore.”

— Karanvir Bohra

“And then when he said ‘Raja to Mar Gaya.” — Himanshi Khurana

Felt so heavy while watching him, his energetic soul and that smile… couldn’t stop my tears…so many memories…felt so real while seeing him in the reel..Beautiful message and on that note…#Seri my friend. Love you.”” — Rashami Desai

Watched #DilBechara in intervals as it was hard to watch in one go. I had met Sushant once during IIFA Awards, NY. He was so human and yet so God-like. He has left all of us alone somewhere. So much left in pain-incomplete. Thank you Mukesh Chhabra for this legacy.” — Vikas Khanna

— Compiled by Manpriya Singh