'Gone too soon': Friends and colleagues remember Sushant Singh Rajput

sara-sushant via Instagram

Bollywood personalities Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, producer Ekta Kapoor and filmmaker Abhishek Kapoor, on Monday, paid tributes to actor Sushant Singh Rajput on his first death anniversary.

Rajput, 34, was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020.

A popular face on the Indian television courtesy the hit soap opera Pavitra Rishta, Rajput made his feature film debut in 2013 with Kai Po Che!.

Ekta Kapoor shared a series of pictures on her Instagram page and hashtagged the caption, "Remembering Sushant Singh Rajput."

"Wished on the stars with you... Now I wish on a star knowing it's you," she wrote.

The producer was instrumental in giving Rajput his breakthrough with the hit show Pavitra Rishta in 2009.

Abhishek Kapoor, who directed Rajput in Kai Po Che! and Kedarnath, said he is yet to come to terms the actor's demise.

"One year today... Still numb. #omnamahshivaya #sushantsinghrajput #superstar forever," he wrote.

Rajput's friend and casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who directed the actor in his last cinematic outing Dil Bechara, shared Abhishek Kapoor's sentiment.

"Nothing seems to be the same. The void you left behind still remains. Here's hoping I'll see you once again. Miss you brother. #stillnumb #sushantsinghrajput," he added.

Ali Khan, who worked with Rajput in her 2018 debut Kedarnath, shared a picture with the late actor and recalled how he was instrumental in "introducing" her to the world of acting.

"Whenever I needed help, advice or a laugh you were always there. You introduced me to the world of acting, made me believe that dreams could come true, and gave me all that I have today. Still can't believe you're gone. But every time I look at the stars, the rising sun or the moon I know you're here. From 'Kedarnath' to Andromeda," the actor wrote.

Rajput's Chhichhore co-star Shraddha Kapoor posted a picture with him on Instagram and captioned, "Shine on, dearest Sush."

Rao, who starred with the late actor in Kai Po Che!, shared a picture on his Instagram Story, with the caption "Bhai (brother)."

Rajput's Raabta co-star Kriti Sanon shared a collage from the look test she did with the actor for the 2017 romantic-drama.

Sanon said she still feels like the actor is still around and she will meet him someday.

"Today, it feels so painfully weird to know that you and I are not in the same world anymore... Still feels like it hasn't happened for real. Like maybe you are still around and I'll bump into you somewhere..

"I don't think it'll ever sink in... But I pray that you are happy and at peace whichever world you are in, Sush," she captioned the collage.

Rajput's former girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, posted an emotional note on Instagram remembering her "love".

"There isn't a moment where I believe that you aren't here anymore. They said that time heals everything but you were my time and my everything.

"I know that you are my guardian angel now - watching me with your telescope from the moon and protecting me," Chakraborty, 28, wrote alongside her photo with Rajput, a science nerd who had a deep interest in astronomy.

The actor's Dil Bechara co-star Sanjana Sanghi said she still misses him.

"A forever void. Miss you," she said.

In an emotional note, actor Bhumi Pednekar said her Sonchiriya co-star showed her the world like she had "never seen it before."

"I hope you've found your peace my curious sweet SSR...Om Shanti," she wrote on the photo-video sharing platform.

Actor Preity Zinta also posted a picture with Rajput and wrote that she misses him.

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal Hope you are at peace wherever you are," she wrote.

Actor Tahir Raj Bhasin also shared a few photographs with Rajput on his Instagram Story.

"Remembering your insatiable curiosity and intelligence. Gone too soon. May you always remain interstellar," Bhasin said about his Chhichhore co-actor.

Rajput's Pavitra Rishta co-star and former girlfriend Ankita Lokhande shared a montage of their pictures on the social media platform.

"This was our journey. Phir milenge chalte chalte (until next time)," she captioned the video.

Pulkit Samrat, another TV actor who transitioned to films, said Rajput's death felt like "a personal loss".

In a note, Samrat said the late star still exists as "an inspiration to those who dare to dream big".

"You exist in the hopes and aspirations of every small town guy who dreams of making it big some day. You exist for everyone who wants to believe that humans are capable of kindness.

"You exist for everyone who dares to dream. I never got to know you in this lifetime, but if we live more than once, I would want to be a part of the world again where you exist, a world that is much kinder than this one. Sushant Singh Rajput, you are missed," the Fukrey actor said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing Rajput's death, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) investigating money laundering and drugs related angle in the case.