On Friday, Rhea Chakraborty found some closure in a four-year-long ordeal that he had been facing since the death of her boyfriend, actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The actor was found dead at his house during the lockdowns in June 2020. Even as his death was ruled a suicide, Rhea - along with her brother Shovik - was arrested, initially in connection with a narcotics case.

She was later investigated by various central agencies, from the Enforcement Directorate to the Central Bureau of Investigation. This week, the Supreme Court finally granted the actor relief by dismissing the lookout circular against her and her family. But it has been a long and arduous journey to this point for her. 

Sushant Singh Rajput's death and the abetment case

Sushant was found dead at his residence in Mumbai on June 14, 2020. The death of the actor at 34 stunned the film world and the fans. Rhea had been in a relationship with Sushant for a year at that point and had been living in his house till a week before his death before moving back to her place. On July 25, Sushant's family filed a case of abetment of suicide, wrongful restraint, wrongful confinement, theft, criminal breach of trust, and cheating against Rhea in Patna, where Sushant's father lives.

ED, CBI, and NCB cases against Rhea

In August, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) opened an investigation into allegations of money laundering linked to Sushant's death. Rhea and her brother were questioned on August 7. On August 19, the Supreme Court handed the investigation of the death over to the CBI, taking it away from the Mumbai Police. Around the same time, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) also began a parallel investigation into the allegations of drug trafficking and abuse linked to Sushant's death.

Rhea's arrest and confinement

On September 8, 2020, Rhea was arrested by the NCB on the charges of supplying marijuana to Sushant. She remained in judicial custody for almost a month before she was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on October 7. She was released the same day.

The online trolling and abuse

Immediately after Rhea's name came up in connection with Sushant, the actor was vilified, first on social media and then in the traditional news media too. There were death threats, memes calling her a 'gold-digger' and 'murderer'. Even news channels indicted Rhea much before the courts had anything to charge her with. In October, the South China Morning Post noted that "India's hyperbolic television channels, which have given more airtime to this case than India's battle against Covid-19 and the recent rapes of lower-caste women, labelled Chakraborty a 'murderer'." 

Career downturn and eventual comeback

Rhea had been an established, if not successful, actor in Hindi cinema at the time of Sushant's death. She had appeared in films like Jalebi and Sonali Cable as lead and had supporting roles in hits like Half Girlfriend. But after her name was linked to the investigations around Sushant, offers dried up. Rhea has not signed a single film since 2020. Her only release since is Chehra, a delayed film that was shot pre-pandemic. The actor did make a comeback of sorts as a gang leader on the reality show MTV Roadies in 2023.

Earlier this year, Rhea began her podcast Chapter 2, which has seen guests like Sushmita Sen, Aamir Khan, Zakir Khan and Tanmay Bhat, and Farhan Akhtar and Shibani Dandekar. Over 2023 and 2024, the actor has also eased back into public life, attending events and becoming more active on social media.

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