How Sushant Singh Rajput made people fall in love with him with his role in ‘Pavitra Rishta’ as Manav Deshmukh

New Delhi: It was in 2009 when TV czarina Ekta Kapoor gave late actor Sushant Singh Rajput his major break with her show ‘Pavitra Rishta’. In no time, Sushant, who played Manav Deshmukh, a humble car mechanic in the show, started ruling everyone’s hearts. He was paired opposite Ankita Lokhande and together, they created magic on television. Their on-screen pair was a hit and the show, a blockbuster, that too on the prime time slot.

Sushant, who committed suicide on Sunday (June 14), will always be remembered as an actor par excellence. It was ‘Pavitra Rishta’ which made him a household name and an overnight star. Fans cheered for him, cried with him and loved him endlessly. And, when Sushant and Ankita announced that they are dating IRL, the happiness of many people knew no bounds. Sushant and Ankita were together for six long years before parting ways in 2016.

Sushant left ‘Pavitra Rishta’ in 2011 to join Bollywood and he was received on the big screen with much more love from his loyal fans.

He debuted with Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Kai Po Che! (2013). Since then, there was no looking back for the actor. In his short career, he starred in films such as ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’, ‘PK’, ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy’, ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’, Raabta, ‘Kedarnath, ‘Sonchiriya’, ‘Chhichhore’ and ‘Drive’.

Despite being a successful Bollywood actor, people never forgot his role as Manav in ‘Pavitra Rishta’.

Earlier in June, when the show clocked 11 years, Ekta took to social media to celebrate the milestone and wrote that the channel didn’t want her to cast Sushant in the lead but she convinced them that he would “win a million hearts”. Sushant had replied to her by saying, “And I’m forever grateful to you, ma’am.”

Sushant’s upcoming film is ‘Dil Bechara’.