On June 14, 2020, Bollywood’s unlikely rising star Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) was found dead in his Mumbai home. SSR had become the symbol of the 'rags to riches' trope in less than a Bollywood minute [read: a decade]. Hailing from one of India's poorer states, Bihar, he delivered major Bollywood hits without the help of a godfather in the industry. He made it despite the odds. But for one to be a hero, there needs to be a villain. In this essay, I will attempt to explain the bizarre sequence of events that followed SSR's death through the case's coverage by leading Indian right-wing news channel Republic TV, a lot of which was critiqued by Indian independent news media company, Newslaundy.

Pictures of the dead body swarmed the internet and in response rose Twitter armies demanding #JusticeForSushant. As a group they are the #SSRarmy, individually they go by #SSRian. The Central Bureau of Investigation took the case in August following public outrage over Mumbai police’s verdict that it was indeed a case of suicide. Mumbai Police claimed 80,000 cross-platform fake accounts were created on social media to ‘discredit’ them and the state government of Maharashtra, according to The Wire. A study published by the University of Michigan found that members of the ruling Indian right-wing party, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) were behind these troll attacks[i]. SSR’s Wikipedia page also saw a major jump to 11.5 million views in a week, rivaling Kobe Bryant and Donald Trump. Posters and benches dedicated to #JusticeForSushant sprang up in Australia.

US-based journalist Michaela Stone Cross writes for the Juggernaut:

“The media—hollowed out by decreasing press freedom and more fake news—was releasing any information it could get its hands on, real or fake. Rajput’s face, eyes rolling, lacerations vivid, could be seen on screens all across India, and three fans killed themselves in his name.”

My personal favourite hashtag was #SonofBiharAwaitsJustice started by the BJP during the Bihar election campaign 2020. They happened to win in November. Yet, the political opportunism wasn't the most horrific side of the SSR case; it was another hashtag: #ArrestRheaNow. The media screamed hour after hour, week after week, about how SSR’s girlfriend, Rhea Chakroborty had “performed black magic” and “driven the rising star to suicide”[ii]. In India, driving someone to suicide carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison. SSR’s family accused the girlfriend of money laundering and “forcing drugs into SSR”. The media raged with infinite speculation portrayed as damning evidence. Meanwhile, Covid-19 had triggered a mass exodus of unemployed migrant workers walking home across the country, 20 soldiers were killed by China in disputed territory, and medical reports confirmed SSR’s death was indeed a case of suicide. None of it mattered.

A tragic suicide, Bollywood glamour, and a woman to blame – these made the perfect ingredients to begin a sensational 3-month long “media trial” to uncover the alleged suicide as murder. India’s drowning sorrow turned to burning rage, launching conspiracy theories that were legitimized by media coverage. Thus ensued a series of events that triggered an investigation by three federal agencies and then, rendered their still-awaited verdict meaningless. Suicide turned to murder, to political assassination, to the involvement of drug cartels, to dethroning some of Bollywood’s mightiest.

On the day of his death, Republic TV published an article detailing SSR's love for the arts and sciences[iii]. Their charming portrayal of India's entertainment industry pivoted. In the following days, SSR was painted as the brilliant outsider who was ostracized by the "Bollywood mafia" run by homosexuals and nepotistic Bollywood stars to maintain the status quo. This was mainly targeting Bollywood's only openly gay influential figure, Karan Johar. He is the owner of Dharma Productions, one of Bollywood's leading production houses. Netizens started social media campaigns against Dharma for excluding SSR in favour of star kids (children of Bollywood actors). Dharma CEO Apoorva Mehta was called in for a statement in SSR death case while Johar remained off social media for weeks. In response, a group of 38 Bollywood producers and film associations filed a defamation suit against Republic TV, Times Now, and some other media channels. The Delhi High Court was quoted by Live Law, “you can investigate, but you can't run a maligning campaign. There hasn't even been an FIR and channels start calling persons as accused.”

The focus then shifted to how the Maharashtra government was obstructing the investigation into SSR's death while the BJP ran the #SonofBiharAwaitsJustice campaign. The 34-year-old actor was found hanging from a ceiling fan by his domestic help. Mumbai police termed his death "accidental" and local media called it "suicide". However, conspiracy theories began taking off on social media, largely by fans who thought SSR was above such 'weakness'. This triggered heated prime time debates on news channels across the country. SSR's family seemed to be holding a similar 'high' opinion of him and called for a federal investigation. The state of Maharashtra's government, however, refused to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation saying it did not require a federal investigation. The BJP perhaps saw an opportunity to bring down one of its most powerful rivals, the Shiv Sena (meaning the army of Lord Shiva). They were quick to blame the extremist, ultra-nationalist party for being "obstacles in the Sushant probe." The Shiv Sena was founded by a cartoonist, Bal Thackeray, in 1966 as a response to the subjugation that Marathis faced in their own state at the hands of domestic migrants. It is now led by his son, Uddhav Thackeray, as Chief Minister. During this period, two Republic TV journalists were arrested for trespassing on Maharashtra Chief Minister’s farmhouse.

After establishing a winning election campaign in Bihar for the BJP, Republic TV turned to its winning villain: Rhea Chakroborty. The narrative of the brilliant outsider with a love for art and science was abandoned for one of an impressionable boy, held captive in his own home by his controlling, evil, gold-digger girlfriend. How did she control him? with drugs. She changed his staff, forced marijuana on him, and isolated him from the world. She was now the reason he was an outsider in the industry; he was never ostracized by the industry. Rhea Chakroborty was arrested, and the Enforcement Directorate launched a probe into allegedly suspicious transfers of funds from SSR's accounts. She spent almost a month in jail before getting bail due to lack of evidence. It was then that she appeared for the real trial on TV. She is still fighting several cases against SSR's family, the CBI, the ED, and the Narcotics Control Bureau. The third federal agency was to investigate a massive Bollywood drug rig involving Rhea Chakroborty, SSR, and some of Bollywood's mightiest female actors. No one dare challenge the fandom of Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan. Bollywood's leading lady, Deepika Padukone's ex-manager is currently in jail in relation to this investigation, while Rhea Chakroborty's brother was granted bail after three months in jail. Shalini Venugopal Bhagat of The New York Times wrote, “Chakraborty became the target of vicious attacks online, including rape and death threats, as well as on TV channels. The coverage prompted the Press Council of India, a self-regulating press watchdog, to warn the media not to “conduct its own parallel trial.”"

"If you become the investigator, prosecutor, and judge, what is the use of us? Why are we here?", Bombay High Court asked advocates representing Republic TV.

On January 18, 2021, Bombay HC termed some coverage of the SSR case by Republic TV “prima facie contemptuous,” but refrained from taking any action. This case revealed everything that is wrong with Indian media all at once. The deceased was widely referred to as “weak”. Witnesses were interviewed on TV before court proceedings. The louder and longer India’s most iconic anchor, Arnab Goswami (founder-editor at Republic TV), shouted on TV, the more true his allegations became. The public watched news instead of Netflix – captivated until they lost interest. No one cares anymore, except those who were imprisoned, trolled and threatened online, attacked on national TV, chased by reporters for months, and lost their personal and professional well-being. Newslaundry pointed out, “Today, though they caused a CBI inquiry, Republic TV, Times Now and Co have all but abandoned the case. Arnab Goswami had claimed, waving a fist in the air and shaking with furious anger, “If required, 80 years we will fight for Sushant Singh Rajput.” Evidently, this at least was not true.” Republic TV certainly did not achieve this feat alone, but it did gain the most out of SSR’s tragic death.