'Sushant was eager and enthusiastic'

'I was reluctant about being friends with Sushant'
'He was a star.'
'It took me a while to understand him, and when I did, I opened up to him and we started talking about this and that and whatnot.'

Sahil Vaid, who played Sushant Singh Rajput's best friend in the actor's last film Dil Bechara, still cannot get over his sudden, tragic death.

The two had bonded on the sets of the film and SSR had motivated Sahil to fulfill a childhood dream of buying a sports bike.

"He had said, 'You buy it and then we will go for a ride together'. It never happened.nIt saddens me to think about it," Sahil tells Rediff.com Contributor Prateek Sur.

When you were offered Dil Bechara, were you already friends with Sushant Singh Rajput?

No. I had liked Kai Po Che and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. These were the only two films of his that I had seen.

I don't watch television, so I had no idea about his run there.

I had once seen him in Lokhandwala (north west Mumbai) on his motorcycle.

I love motorcycles.

I saw him with his Yamaha MT09 and I asked someone who he was, and people told me that is Sushant Singh Rajput and comes on TV.

I had no idea that six-seven years down the line, I would be working with him in a film.

I met him for the first time at Mukesh Chhabra sir's office when we were reading the script for the first time after I was cast in the movie.

You spent a lot of time together in Jamshedpur during the shoot.

(Cuts in) More. A couple of months there, and then we shot in Mumbai.

He used to invite me to this house to just hang out, but I am very shy.

I take a lot of time to open up to people, and make friends.

Would you believe it, till date, I have not been to Varun Dhawan's house without any reason?

And Varun is a really close friend of mine.

What was the first thing that you noticed about Sushant when you met him at Mukesh Chhabra's office?

I remember he was very eager and enthusiastic. Like, a bit too enthusiastic.

He was too energetic. He was like, 'Let's go for the shoot', and I was like let's do the reading of the lines first.

Initially, I was reluctant about being friends with him.

He was a star.

It took me a while to understand him, and when I did, I opened up to him and we started talking about this and that and whatnot.

We hardly spoke about movies and the film industry.

We would talk about things like motorcycles, science and technology.

We would share playlists.

Once he told me, 'You don't have to do so much effort to build your body in the gym. Don't run that much.' (Laughs)

He was easy to talk to.

What was your reaction when you heard of his demise?

I still don't believe it.

I don't like going back to that day.

I woke up to the news. I was shooting all night and woke up late.

Somebody called me and asked me if I heard about it.

I said I didn't even know as I had just woken up.

A lot of rumours like this come online every second day. I was sure this was also a rumour.

I remember opening my Instagram, and it was there.

As I scrolled down, it was everywhere. By then, I was convinced that it actually happened.

I called Mukesh Chhabra sir, and he cut my call. He never cuts my calls, which meant something was wrong.

Then I called Sanjana (Sanghi).

She was crying, and couldn't really talk to me.

I called up people in Fox Star Studios.

They confirmed it.

My first question was 'Why'. We haven't got an answer to date.

Any memory which you would hold dear always?

I remember telling him that I really wanted to buy a sports bike.

He was like, 'Buy it'.

I asked him where would I ride it, and he said, 'Now, you're talking like normal people. Just buy the bike, and you will find the space to ride it. You will find the money for fuel. You'll find the money for EMI. Just buy it.'

And I ended up buying it.

I bought a Kawasaki Z900 and I absolutely love that bike. It was a childhood dream that came true.

Every time I ride that bike, I remember the reason behind it.

He had said, 'You buy it and then we will go for a ride together'.

It never happened.

It saddens me to think about it.

• Goodbye Sushant