Smita Jaykar’s voice crackles over the phone as she recalls Rhea’s frantic call—"Smita, he’s dwindling again,"—a plea that landed her at the hospital’s doorstep.
She hadn’t even imagined the weight of that moment. While Sushant was locked in a haze of medication for depression, Rhea, who’d been his confidante, was desperate to pull him into a quiet ashram ritual that might have steadied his spiralling mind. Smita, a veteran of the stage and a practitioner of emotional healing, was ready to step in, but the plan collapsed before it could materialise.
The story is tinged with the ghost of a man whose life ended in 2020, yet the threads of his last days still tug at the audience. Sushant was found dead in his Bandra flat on 7 June 2020, and Rhea was later arrested in September for alleged drug dealings, only to be released after 28 days. The CBI’s 2025 closure report found no evidence against her, but the drama never truly faded.
Rhea, now back on screen as a judge on MTV Roadies and a contestant on The Traitors Season 2, still carries the shadow of that period. Smita, who once co‑produced the hit serial Sonali Cable with Rhea, remembers the actress as "sweet" and "full of life," a stark contrast to the headlines. "She was the one who was with Sushant at that time and wanted to help him," Smita says.
For fans who love the behind‑the‑scenes of Bollywood, this confession is a reminder that the industry’s narratives are rarely black or white. It also forces a re‑look at the human cost of fame, the fragile line between wellness and despair, and the unspoken acts of kindness that may never find the silver screen.
As the industry watches Rhea’s return, Smita’s words linger like a quiet after‑thought: that a single call could have shifted a life, and that the story of Sushant’s last days still holds mysteries no courtroom can resolve.