8 Years Of Kai Po Che: Rajkummar Rao, Amrita Puri Remember Co-Star Sushant Singh Rajput

The cast and crew of the acclaimed drama Kai Po Che! celebrated the eighth year anniversary of the film and remembered actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who made his Bollywood debut with the movie. Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, the film released on February 22, 2013 and was based on author Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life. Set in Gujarat, Kai Po Che! chronicles the story of three friends -- played by Rajput, Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh -- as they navigate their way through the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the Godhra train burning in 2002 and the subsequent riots.

Kapoor said he is touched by the love the film continues to receive but is pained by the absence of Rajput, who was found dead in his Bandra apartment in June last year. The director called Rajput a "crown jewel", whose loss was unquantifiable. Kapoor took to Twitter and posted the video of the hit Manjha track from the film. "The thrill of starting this journey with a new team hungry to give their best at the dawn of their careers stands most vividly in mind. One can't quantify the love our film continues to receive over the years, neither can we quantify the pain we feel at the loss of our crown jewel," he wrote.

Rajput made his foray into movies with Kai Po Che! after a successful career on TV with the hit show Pavitra Rishta. The film propelled Rajput to stardom, as he went on to feature in Yash Raj Films' Shuddh Desi Romance (2013) and Rajkumar Hirani's PK in 2014. Later, he headlined blockbusters like the 2016 biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Nitesh Tiwari's Chhichhore and reunited with Kapoor for romantic-drama Kedarnath in 2018.

The film was also a stepping stone for Rao and Sadh, who were relatively new in the movies. On his Instagram Story, Rao shared the poster of the film and said Kai Po Che! allowed the actor in him to grow and be "more empathetic". "As if it was yesterday when Sushant, Amit and I were shooting for the film. You are being missed my dearest @sushantsinghrajput," he wrote in the caption.

Rao, too, had a career turnaround with Kai Po Che! and from there on he went on to feature in films like 2014's hit Queen and 2015 drama Aligarh. Sadh re-shared Rao's Story on Instagram and wrote how celebrating the film's eighth anniversary was a bittersweet feeling. "Something we cherish for life... and some void..." he said. Post the film, Sadh's next major project was superstar Salman Khan's Sultan in 2016. The actor had a packed 2020, with three film releases and two web series.

Kai Po Che! garnered acclaim for its performances by the three leads, Amit Trivedi's music and sensitive handling of the story by Kapoor. It also starred Amrita Puri and Manav Kaul. Puri said Kai Po Che! is a film she is proud to be part of. "A fun fact - my mum still has the music from KPC as her caller tune. I still remember the first time I heard the soundtrack I heard on your headphones @gatuukapoor. Sending much love to the cast and crew of this special film," she captioned her post. "You live on in our memories @sushantsinghrajput," Puri added.

Meanwhile, Kapoor is gearing up for the release of his next directorial, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Vaani Kapoor, in July.