Bollywood takes over cricket: Sushant, Emraan enter field

Sushant Singh Rajput is all set to take on the big challenge – playing Mahendra Singh Dhoni even as actor Emraan Hashmi is set to play the role of Mohammed Azharuddin in Azhar.

Unlike Emraan who does not have a passion for playing cricket but has played a cricket bookie in the film ‘Jannat’, Sushant has been playing cricket and that was the reason he even managed to bag a film like ‘Kai Po Che’, which was his debut film. “My cricket playing abilities got me Kai Po Che. I am on the big screen only because I knew to play cricket,” he says.

‘Kai Po Che’ had an underlining theme of cricket and Sushant wielded the willow in the film.

“Ditto with Neeraj Pandey’s film on Dhoni. When I got the offer for the role, I as highly kicked. I could connect with the character and his life. I am offered so many films on a regular basis, but I refuse films when I cannot connect to the character. My heart has not been able to say yes to many films, because deep under I am not getting my inner voice to approve of it,” says the actor.

Ask him if he regrets any films that he has refused. “I do not think about films that I have not wanted to do because I have said no to them. But then there are films from a great filmmaker like Sanjay Leel Bhansali that I have not been able to do because I simply did not have the dates to do the films. I have had to let go of films like ‘Ram Leela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ because I had other commitments,” says Rajput.

The actor is now working hard for his role of Dhoni. “I do a lot of research for my roles. I am hard working actor. I have been working on my cricket knowledge and abilities too when I am doing this film. I am always up to picking up challenges,” says Rajput.

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