On June 14th, actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead at his apartment in Mumbai's Bandra. The late actor's family alleged that Rhea Chakraborty, Rajput's girlfriend, had abetted the alleged suicide of the actor and registered a case against her in Patna on July 28. The complainant was Sushant Singh Rajput's father Krishna Kishor Singh.
Since the late actor’s family lodged an FIR against her, Chakroborty has been the centre of attraction on television. Rajput’s family has also filed a police complaint against six others including Chakraborty’s family, accusing them of abetting the suicide.
From TV anchors indulging in a media trial to abusive Bhojpuri songs about her being circulated on social media, actress Rhea Chakroborty has since been the target of character assassination and gendered abuses.
Recently, a prominent Hindi news channel ran a program with the headline, “Sushant par Rhea ka Kaala Jaadu,” where the visual showed Sushant trapped in a glass jar while Rhea practices black magic on him. It is amusing that on the basis of one statement by Sushant Singh Rajput’s sister, other TV channels followed suit and started discussing the role of black magic in the case.
Advocate Karuna Nundy who has been following the Sushant Singh Rajput case closely expressed concern over the media trial the actress is going through. She said, “Rhea Chakraborty’s media trial is something that should deeply worry all women. There is a way in which a woman has been taken out of a particular situation and labelled a criminal by national mainstream media, in Bhojpuri songs, by lawyers on national TV.”
Rhea Chakroborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case has become an easy target for people because of her womanhood. What will it take to change the way Chakroborty is being continuously targeted through media trials and offensive songs – and how long will we continue to be okay with this kind of gendered abuse?
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