"I still regret not meeting him" - Kai Po Che's Ali shares emotional story of Sushant Singh Rajput amid Maharashtra Premier League 2025

Maharashtra cricketer Digvijay Deshmukh, who essayed the role of Ali Hashmi in the 2013 Bollywood movie 'Kai Po Che!', recently shared a story about the late Sushant Singh Rajput. Deshkukh revealed that during the shooting of the film, he promised himself that he would only meet Rajput once he became a professional cricketer.

The talented youngster disclosed that he regrets not being able to meet his former co-star after he was picked up by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2020. Rajput tragically passed away on June 14, 2020.

The critically acclaimed actor was found hanging at his Bandra residence in Mumbai. Speaking about how he couldn't fulfil his promise, here's what Deshmukh said in an interview with Cricket.com:

"I still regret not meeting him. Since then, I have decided that I will never make such promises. I will let life as it happens."

It is worth mentioning that Deshkukh played the role of a young cricketer who was mentored by Rajput in the Abhishek Kapoor-directed 'Kai Po Che!'. The film was adapted from Chetan Bhagat's novel 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life'. According to Bollywood Hungama, the movie collected ₹83.39 crore at the global box office.

On the cricketing front, Deshkukh is part of Eagle Nashik Titans in the ongoing 2025 Maharashtra Premier League (MPL). With 12 points from eight outings, the Prashant Solanki-led side are placed at the top of the points table and have already qualified for the playoffs.

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"People asked if I was in a movie, but I avoided it" - Digvijay Deshmukh on being part of Kai Po Che!

In the same interview, Digvijay Deshmukh spoke about how he was never interested in an acting career. He mentioned that he always dreamt of making it big as a cricketer.

He stated that he would even ignore the questions about the movie as his focus was just on cricket. The 27-year-old said:

"I wasn't interested in acting. My family also felt movies weren’t for me, but I eventually took up the role. People asked if I was in a movie, but I avoided it. I only wanted to be a cricketer."

While the Kai Po Che! actor was roped in by MI in 2020, he has yet to debut in the tournament. He was released by the Mumbai-based franchise after one season.