Rhea Chakraborty on surviving turmoil after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death: ‘Now we don’t need a temple in the house’
Rhea Chakraborty walked down the memory lane and looked back at the year of 2020 during the finale episode of her podcast Chapter 2
Actor Rhea Chakraborty’s life was upended in 2020 after the death of her former boyfriend, Sushant Singh Rajput. She faced a tumultuous period marked by multiple allegations from his family and her arrest by the Narcotics Control Bureau over alleged drug links. Reflecting on that phase now, Rhea says she wouldn’t have survived it without the constant support of her girlfriends.
Rhea Chakraborty looks back
Rhea walked down the memory lane and looked back at the year of 2020 during the finale episode of her podcast Chapter 2 with Rhea Chakraborty. Rhea was accompanied on the episode by her close friends, including Shibani Dandekar and Anusha Dandekar.
During the episode, Rhea spoke about her friends supporting her through the tough time.
“At that time, it was not cool to announce that these are the people who were supporting me. Today, I am sitting at a place where I want to say that I survived the storm. People keep telling me you are strong but I only survived this because of certain people in my life,” Rhea said.
She added, “And that is so freeing for me to be able to say that out loud. This was my crew. These were the people who supported me and it is not going to create backlash for you guys.”
Rhea got emotional when Anusha revealed the wish for her for 2026, saying, “I wish for your Chapter 2 to be the best chapter of your life. I want the world for you… It is unfair to think that you have to be strong and brave all the time.”
In the episode, Rhea also shared, “The year 2020 was a difficult time of my life. As my dad says, if it weren’t for these women, we would have never survived. Now we don’t need a temple in the house, we need a picture of these women.”
What do we know about Rhea and Sushant
Rhea faced time in jail and a social boycott following the death of her ex-boyfriend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020. Last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) closure report in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case has brought relief to Rhea, as she has been cleared of any charges. In her previous interviews, Rhea confessed that the whole ordeal took a toll on her mental health as she suffered from PTSD.
Sushant was found dead in his Mumbai home on June 14, 2020. Rhea was embroiled in a storm and subjected to intense media scrutiny following the death of her actor boyfriend. Sushant’s father had lodged a complaint against actor Rhea, accusing her of abetment of suicide. She and her brother Showik were also questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegations of money laundering.
After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested her and her brother, alleging they supplied marijuana to Sushant. The Bombay High Court rejected NCB’s theory that Rhea financed and harboured Sushant’s alleged addiction. They were granted bail after a few months. The case was later transferred to the CBI, which has since then been carrying out a probe into the actor’s death. In March last year, CBI submitted a closure report, giving Rhea clearance from all charges. Since then, Rhea has made a comeback in the public through her podcast and her entrepreneur venture.
