People often say to their loved ones – “can pluck stars from the sky and put down to your feet wherever you go”. But a star from the land has gone to the sky. A star shone so brightly down on earth that it touched every heart with its brightness. Now, its’ brightness is not limited by time or a place. It will continue to shine brighter everywhere at the same time, unlike the sun. I was and am lucky enough to call that star my own with immense pride. You must have got by now whom I am talking about. Yes, the star is none other than Sushant Singh Rajput!

The untimely and mysterious death has shaken the whole country. Some people have taken it as an agenda to serve their personal purpose but there are some rather many who felt the pain same as that of the family. It was his love for them that he is getting so much love and respect in return even though he is no more with us. He proved the famous dialogue of Rajesh Khanna’s movie, Anand, – “zindagi badi honi chahiye lambi nai” right. I am not here to discuss what’s already going around in the media – neither his life nor his death. But something I would like to share from a part of my life.

Since I was in school I didn’t have a cable connection at home. So whenever I visited my native place i.e. Patna (a place where I was born and where my whole family lived), I used to watch television as much I could. One day while I was watching, I was introduced to the character of a TV serial and was told – ‘see your cousin’. I saw that face after so many years as we grew up in different cities and only met at family functions. I was very excited about the fact that a cousin of mine is an actor – a brilliant one. The actor whom everyone adored seeing him in both small and big screens. The year we shifted to Patna, I met him for the first time after he became famous. It was the eve of Raksha Bandhan. I remember each and every moment of that evening. The excitement, the nervousness, and the love prevailed in that environment. A decent guy bound to his roots. I never felt for a second that a celebrity was sitting among us. We cherished the childhood memories and his smile was always the cherry on the top.

I knew the more famous he will be the lesser we will get to meet him but ‘never’ was not in the mind. As a family, have seen him grow from Gulshan to SSR, hence, it is difficult to engulf such a horrific fact. His passion for gazing at the stars has now been passed on to many. There are many beautiful stars and planets up above to gaze on but people down here will only look for the star that they have been watching down here too. He was and always be the star who will continue to shine eternally. The Saturn rings are no more attractive than the curve of your smile. I, not only as a sister but as an audience, will miss the smile, the energy, and the intellectual thoughts delivered in the interviews that were rare to see from the people of your industry.

I urge everyone to cherish life and live your dreams every day. Work harder for yourself and if you are able to impact at least a life even for a moment, then remember you live big!