Rhenew: A look at Rhea Chakraborty's journey of slowly rising from the ashes

Rhea Chakraborty

On June 14, 2020, the nation was shaken by the news of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's demise. He was 34 at the time and it was reported that he died by suicide in his Bandra apartment. Soon after, theories started surfacing around the cause of his death and in a matter of days it snowballed into a huge matter. Rhea Chakraborty, who was dating the 'Kai Po Che' actor at the time was mourning his loss. However, within days her fate changed for the worse as she dominated the headlines and became the talking point in the 9 pm news debates on Television as well. Things got out of hand after Rajpit's family accused Chakraborty of abetment of suicide.

Rhea was soon subjected to a nationwide media trial. While she cooperated with the law during the investigation which had involvement of central agencies like CBI, ED, and NCB, a large number of people already looked at her as the villain. The long trial resulted in her being under judicial custody for a month. Her brother was also put under judicial custody for two months basis a chargesheet filed by the Narcotics Department.

While Rhea's presence in the news slowly fizzled, the online hate continued. Despite the nationwide media trial, Rhea slowly started getting back to her life. As the public was her media trail, she kept her followers and others updated about her life post the trail as well.

Rhea's first post on Instagram after her judicial custody came on Women's Day in March 2021. She shared a picture of her and mother's hands intertwined and spoke about strength and faith. She followed it up with a series of posts on love, faith, and strength.

For her physical well being Rhea sought yoga and shared a picture of herself practicing the same.

Towards October 2021, Rhea began to embrace the new normal, a term that was adopted after the COVID-19-induced lockdown was relaxed. But for Rhea, it was also restarting her life and moving on from the turbulent times that hit her life. All her posts were accompanied by the hashtag Rhenew, a combination of Rhea and New.

Concluding the year 2021, she shared happy pictures of herself with a thought-provoking note reflecting on the year gone by. "You see me smiling and laughing, it's not been easy to get here. A year full of healing, a year full of pain. But here I am, smiling and looking at you 2021-because indeed what doesn't break you makes you stronger..!"

The year 2022 was a new start for her on the work front. In February 2022, Rhea shared that she has resumed work after 2 years. "Yesterday, I went to work after 2 years. A big thankyou to all the people who stood by me through my toughest times. No matter what, the sun always shines. NEVER GIVE UP!. In the video, she was seen happily recording an audio file in a radio room.

In the same month, Rhea attended the wedding festivities of her close friend Shibani Dandekar with actor Farhan Akhtar. She shared her joy and pictures from the celebration on Instagram.

The year was filled with travel and well-being of her self and she shared her journey on Instagram. While the naysayers continued dropping in the comment section with hate, Chakraborty carried on with her life. Every year on Sushant's death anniversary and birth anniversary she would continue to post pictures and videos with him, recalling the time she spent with him as his partner.

In October 2022, Rhea walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week for the brand GUAPA.

In 2023, she made her appearance on Television as she joined the popular show 'MTV Roadies 19' as a gang leader. In one of the recent episodes, Rhea opened up about the hate she received and how that did not deter her.

In the promo video for the episode, the actor could be seen interacting with a female contestant who opened up about her struggles. In response, Chakraborty also shared her story after Rajput's death.

"A lot of people say a lot of things. People have told me a lot of things as well… The kind of names they gave me, the things they said about me. But kya main unki wajah se woh cheez manugi (should I accept what was said about me)? Kya main unke wajah se apne life mein rukungi? Bilkul bhi nahi… (Because of them, will I stop living my life? Not at all)."