Will Our Media Dons Now Apologise To Rhea Chakraborty?

After five long excruciating years, the Curious Case of Sushant Singh Rajput has finally been laid to rest by the CBI. It was the end of a sordid saga when the agency gave its final closure, ruling out all foul play and pronouncing it as a simple death by suicide.

I wonder though, who all will be attending this funeral of the social media circus- a spectacle that had become a source of national entertainment for all the citizens during the lockdown.

The so-called journalists –with their witch hunt containing an endless barrage of allegations and bogus speculations like vultures that preyed on the innocents, churning out conspiracy theories on an hourly basis – will they arrive to pay their respects?

Will the ground reporters armed with their tools of gossip, scandals, rumours, hearsay and high pitched drama who participated in James Bond like ‘chase sequences’ shoving cameras and mikes into anxious faces; heckling whoever happened to come across (whether it was the grieving parents or a food delivery boy); will they all arrive to say a humble five letter word called ‘Sorry’?

Will Sameer Wankhede, who accused Rhea Chakraborty of being a part of a drug syndicate operating in Bollywood; who later received several legal notices from the NCB for alleged irregularities in the preliminary enquiry leading to her arrest; will he have the guts to attend this solemn occasion and apologize for his mistake?

Will Arnab Goswami, the ‘Republic’s crusader for justice’ who had miraculously accessed the Whatsapp Chats to ‘prove’ that Rhea was a drug addict; who also attempted to enact in an Oscar performance to decode what her alleged messages would sound like with a tirade of - ‘Mujhe Drug Do, Drug Do, Drug Do’; will he have the decency to grace the occasion and shout –‘Mujhe Maaf Kar Do, Mujhe Maaf Kar Do, Mujhe Maaf Kar Do’? The Nation definitely wants to know!

Will the reputed owners of all the mainstream channels; who dedicated their precious time with extensive coverage to focus more on sensationalism rather than factual reporting; those who enabled the campaign to vilify Ms. Chakraborty as the mastermind of a fictitious ‘murder’; will they ever show up to assuage their guilt and ask pardon?

Will the PIL, the ED, the DCB and all the dreaded letters of the alphabet make their entry to clear their claims and allegations of drug abuse, money trails and all the added layers of complexities?

Will the Whatsapp University Professors and Students turn up and offer remorse for taking part in the ‘viral fever of forwards’- which not only compromised the integrity of the investigation but also led to defamation and denigration of people associated with the deceased.

And finally, all the political players, who jumped in to gain political mileage by being part of an unprecedented standoff between two Indian States - Maharashtra and Bihar, will they apologize for their role in making Death a national entertainment?

It’s no secret now that everyone was hell bent on inventing a culprit and villain. When a woman was grieving for the loss of a partner, instead of respecting her personal space, she was made a target for demonization.

Rhea, who was Sushant’s live-in partner, was instantly painted as ‘evil incarnate’. She was labeled an opportunist, a gold digger who swindled Sushant’s money, who used him as a gateway to Bollywood, who pushed him to drugs, who made him a psychological wreck, who dumped him and all that jazz.

Moreover, with the entrenched misogyny in our society that behind the failure of every man there has to be a woman, all this drama perfectly fits the patriarchal bill of our culture.

On social media, everyone and their Uncles and Aunties donned the robes of Sherlock Holmes. As if by magic, many Watsons also appeared to float dubious information, just to keep the story alive. Film stars who wanted to gain self publicity spoke about nepotism and the drug cartel.

Paranormal experts hinted at Black Magic and those high enough to communicate with the ‘spirits’ of the deceased, also jumped into the fray to enlighten everyone about their spiritual discourses. Everyone was eager to contribute their deductive reasoning and their observation skills to keep the crime of the century going.

So it was but elementary that once the ‘murder’ theory started to shrivel, the ‘abetment to suicide’ charge was conceived. And Rhea was finally arrested.

In the preliminary investigations, a Medical Board by the All India Medical Institute (AIIMS) had certified that all evidence pointed to a suicide. Sushant was a patient suffering from depression and therefore the possibility of murder was ruled out.

However, the story had attracted everyone’s attention. It was a perfect diversion from the images of our country’s labour class walking endless miles to reach their homes; ambulances on the streets where people gasped for oxygen; bodies buried in beaches or piiled up in mortuaries.

So for TRP’s sake, and for the sake of the real issues that plagued us, this diversion and distraction had to be kept alive.

But, how can one simply forget or dismiss all the tamasha that took place years ago to entertain a bored nation suffering from a pandemic lockdown?

How can you even justify it?

Every social issue is a result of a systemic problem, rather than the actions of a few individuals. We can all avoid taking responsibility or deflect blame on others. But pinpointing to anyone in particular can be difficult, especially when multiple factors contribute to the outcome.

There’s a saying that when no one is to blame, everyone is to blame. As a result the responsibility for the outcome of this humongous problem should be shared by everyone. Even the ones not involved.

So let us all attend the funeral and focus on a collective responsibility to find solutions and address this spanking new problem we have created for ourselves. And vow never to get swept off in the tornado of lies and deceit.

Meanwhile let us express our deepest sympathies and heartfelt sorrow for the entire incident. So that Sushant Singh’s soul can finally Rest in Peace. And Rhea Chakraborty and her family can at last live in Peace!

Nargis Natarajan is an author and columnist who lives in Orissa. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.