Born on January 21, 1986, the late actor might have left this world at an early but his fans continue to remember him because of the strong character he played in his films, despite a short-lived career. He had come to the film industry with no Bollywood connection.

Still, he managed to make a place for himself. Sushant started his career in showbiz as a dancer and later joined a theatre group. After making his name in the TV industry, courtesy of his performance in Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Pavitra Rishta’, the actor switched to films and within a span of seven years, gave audiences critically-acclaimed movies like ‘Kai Po Che’, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’, ‘Chhichhore’, among several others.

Today on the occasion of Sushant’s birth anniversary, let’s go down memory lane and have a look back at some of the best works of the acclaimed actor.

1. Kai Po Che (2013)

Sushant made his Bollywood debut with ‘Kai Po Che!’, which also featured Amit Sadh and Rajkummar Rao in pivotal roles. The movie was based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel ‘3 Mistakes of My Life’ and followed the lives of three best friends on their journey through life.

2. M.S Dhoni-The Untold Story (2016)

The Neeraj Pandey directorial biopic on the popular cricketer was Sushant’s most pivotal role in a seven-year-long movie career and even proved to be the biggest hit of his. Sushant was outstanding in each scene, splendidly portraying the captain’s fragile and sensitive side and even managed to get the accent just right.

3. Kedarnath (2018)

Featuring debutant Sara Ali Khan along with Sushant, this movie was a romantic drama directed by Abhishek Kapoor. Based on the 2013 Uttarakhand floods that devastated the region, ‘Kedarnath’ also shed light on inter-faith love and marriage between a wealthy Hindu Brahmin woman (Sara) and a Muslim man (Sushant) working in the same vicinity.

4. Chhichhore (2019)

This was Sushant’s last film which was released in theatres while he was alive. ‘Chhichhore’ had set the flags of success at the box office, was, ironically, an ode to the idea of living life to the fullest and not giving up in the face of challenge. The Nitesh Tiwari-directed film turned out to be a sleeper hit and also won the National Award for Best Hindi Film.

5. Dil Bechara (2020)

Sushant’s final film ‘Dil Bechara’, which was released on the OTT platform Disney Plus Hotstar after his death, also starred Sanjana Sanghi and was directed by Mukesh Chhabra. A touching adaption of Jonh Green’s novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’, the film certainly made viewers cry and received critical acclaim.

Sushant, who was fondly known for portraying diverse roles with perfection, died by alleged suicide in his apartment on June 14, 2020. It will almost be two years, but the nation still continues to feel the void left by the late actor.