‘If You Spoke Pro-Rhea, You Were Taken As Anti-Sushant’

‘Rhea’s
mom
lost
her
voice,
she
just
couldn’t
talk.’
‘She
would
stand
for
hours
in
the
temple
with
folded
hands,
constantly
praying
for
protection.’
‘Her
father
was
constantly
trying
to
reach
out
to
people
who
could
help
his
kids.’

The
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation
recently
gave
Rhea
Chakraborty


a
clean
chit
in
the
Sushant
Singh
Rajput
case,
making
her
heave
a
sigh
of
relief.

In
an
interview
to
the

Indian
Express
newspaper,
her
close
friend
Nidhi
Hiranandani
revealed
the
ordeal
the
actress
and
her
family
went
through.

The
family
was
socially
ostracised
while
Rhea’s
brother
Showik,
who
also
spent
time
in
jail,
was
denied
admission
in
many
colleges.

Talking
about
Rhea
and
Sushant
Singh
Rajput’s
relationship,
Nidhi
told
the

Indian
Express,
‘As
a
couple,
they
were
full
of
love,
it
was
a
beautiful
relationship.
Both
of
them
were
always
there
for
each
other.’

After
his
death,
she
was
thrown
into
its
repercussions
and
could
not
even
‘mourn
properly’.

‘Initially,
there
was
a
lot
of
disbelief.
We
couldn’t
process
where
all
this
was
coming
from.
We
were
all
just
coming
to
terms
with
all
that
had
happened,
and
I
remember
how
shattered
Rhea
and
Showik
were,’
Nidhi
said,
referring
to
the
media
trial
that
followed.

Rhea’s
arrest
traumatised
the
family
even
further.

‘That
moment
of
her
arrest
was
absolute
panic,’
Nidhi
is
quoted
as
saying.

‘When
they
were
arrested,
we
didn’t
know
who
we
could
reach
out
to.
It
was
(during)
COVID,
uncle
and
aunty
were
shattered.
I
saw
them
breaking
down.

“Rhea’s
mom
lost
her
voice,
she
just
couldn’t
talk.
She
would
stand
for
hours
in
the
temple
with
folded
hands,
constantly
praying
for
protection.
Her
father
was
constantly
trying
to
reach
out
to
people
who
could
help
his
kids.’

The
incident
changed
Showik.

‘Showik
was
just
23,
he
was
giving
his
CAT
exams,’
Nidhi
said.
‘He
got
admission
to
the
most
prestigious
colleges
but
he
couldn’t
go.
Rhea
lost
her
career,
she
couldn’t
do
any
film.

‘Showik
was
denied
admission
to
most
of
the
colleges
because
the
case
was
going
on.
From
a
boy,
he
became
a
man
who
now
wants
to
build
his
life
and
bring
stability
to
the
family.
He
lost
his
youth,
his
carefree
days.’

Rhea
got
no
support
from
the
film
industry
at
the
time.

‘People
in
the
industry
did
show
support,
not
as
openly
as
I
would
have
liked.
In
that
moment,
if
you
spoke
pro-Rhea,
people
were
taking
you
as
anti-Sushant.
Either
you
agree
that
the
allegations
were
true
or
you
were
against
Sushant.
I
found
that
very
bizarre.

‘We
respected
Sushant
a
lot,
we
loved
him,
but
Rhea
was
innocent.’