Rhea Chakraborty on her jail term post Sushant Singh Rajput's demise: Was in solitary confinement, was so tired that...

Rhea Chakraborty faced several criticisms on her personal front after the demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput back in 2020. The actress was in Byculla jail for 28 days on charges of procuring drugs for the late actor.

Chakraborty was recently talking to author Chetan Bhagat for his talkshow Deeptalk With Chetan Bhagat, and shared the ordeal of her jail term, the system they follow, and the struggles that came her way. She narrated, “Due to COVID rules, I had to be in solitary confinement for 14 days. I was the only one in the room. I was asked if I’d like to have lunch. I was so hungry and tired that I ate whatever was given to me.”

The Jalebi star added, “I started feeling grateful when I saw that many prisoners don’t have family support. Or they don’t have Rs. 5,000 or Rs. 10,000 for their bail. At least, I have my family and friends. I told myself, ‘You will get justice. You will get bail. You have not done anything wrong. I have so much to learn from these women while I am here. Why am I wasting my time sulking about what is not in my control?”

On the jail system

“You get breakfast at 6 a.m., lunch at 11 a.m., and dinner at 2 p.m. because it goes with the British way of things. They open the gates at 6 a.m. and lock you in at 5 p.m. Until then, you can take a shower, go to the library, etc. Most people save their dinner and have it at 7-8 p.m. However, I changed my whole cycle.

Last year in October too, she had shared her experiences. Rhea said, “Of course, it’s frustrating; they’re languishing, but they know when and how to catch that happiness. And it can be as small as a samosa on a Sunday. It can be as small as somebody dancing for them. So it’s just perspective; it’s how you look at it. At that point, yes, my life was in the worst hell it could have been.

Rhea also said, “So you are basically removed from society and put as a number in prison because you are deemed unfit for society. So there itself, this personality or these things you’ve created about yourself are completely broken. I was in an under-trial prison, which means it’s not a convicted prison, and unfortunately, all the women over there were still innocent because they were not proven guilty. Seeing them and interacting with them, I experienced a unique kind of love and resilience within those women. They found happiness in small things. They grabbed happiness when they got it. They know how to enjoy a moment, and they are some of the happiest people I have met.”