Ankita Lokhande and Rhea Chakraborty are trending on Twitter (courtesy Instagram)
Strong points
- In an interview, Ankita insisted that Sushant had not been depressed
- “Calling someone ‘bipolar’ is an important thing,” she said.
- Rhea has been accused by Sushant’s family of fraud, incitement to suicide
New Delhi:
Public sentiment on The death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, allegedly by suicide, has refocused filmmaker Karan Johar towards actresses Rhea Chakraborty and Ankita Lokhande. Rhea, against whom Sushant’s family complained to the police, was dating the actor; Ankita and Sushant, co-stars of the hit TV show Pavitra Rishta, dated six years ago. Two separate investigations are underway into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput – one by Mumbai Police and the other by Bihar Police based on the family’s complaint against Rhea Chakraborty; despite inquiries, social media delivered its own verdict on Rhea, spurred on by a TV interview in which Ankita Lokhande insisted that Sushant had not been depressed, as claimed, and no could not have committed suicide.
In an interview with Republic TV, Ankita Lokhande said: “We saw worse situations when we were together. He was a happy guy … He might have been upset, anxious, yes, but depression is a Big word. Calling someone “bipolar” is an important thing. “Ankita clarified that she” did not know what the situation was “but that Sushant Singh Rajput had not been depressed. “I don’t want people to remember him as a depressed guy, he was a hero. He was an inspiration,” she said. Ankita’s interview followed a cryptic post she shared on Instagram that simply read “Truth Wins”.
Ankita Lokhande did not mention any names; Twitter, however, did not need a name, eagerly typing in its words as fueling a story that snowballed online – that Sushant Singh Rajput’s death was suspect. This week ends with the two actresses, Rhea Chakraborty and Ankita Lokhande, furiously fashionable – one was chosen as the villain, the other as a heroine. “Be like Ankita and not like Rhea,” is the sentiment expressed on Twitter – and certainly not in such polite terms. Sushant’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti posted an excerpt from Ankita’s interview on his Instagram, with the words “Satyamev Jayate”.
In the weeks following the death of Sushant Singh Rajput at his home in Mumbai on June 14, filmmaker Karan Johar was pilloried online for allegedly participating in a boycott of the actor’s industry and also for having defended the “ star children ” in his films. The focus is now firmly shifted to Rhea Chakraborty, who told the Supreme Court this week that she had been living with Sushant for a year and had moved six days before her death. Rhea has been accused by Sushant’s family of fraud and incitement to suicide. Sushant’s father claims that she restricted family access to the actor and that he lost movies and became depressed after meeting her. The case against Rhea also includes a “suspicious transaction” of Rs 15 crore from Sushant Singh Rajput’s account – this has now caught the attention of the Enforcement Branch.
Rhea Chakraborty, who asked the Supreme Court to transfer the case against her from Patna to Mumbai, told the Supreme Court that the case against her was concocted by the family of Sushant Singh Rajput to harass her. Rhea is one of 40 people interviewed by Mumbai Police in their investigation into Sushant’s death – filmmakers Aditya Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali are among the 40.
