Bollywood / Mahesh Bhatt didn't ask me to leave Sushant: Rhea

Mumbai: Actor Rhea Chakraborty has responded to allegations against her as she broke her silence on Thursday. Among the subjects she addressed was her relationship with veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt whom she called a ‘father figure’.

In an interview to Aaj Tak, Rhea said Sushant Singh Rajput’s insistence that she should leave his home on June 8 had ‘completely broken’ her. Rhea said: “How would you feel when someone asks you to leave? This was when I was unwell and in the same phase as him? When I have taken care of him for so long? When there is so much affection between us? He asked me to leave when it is known that those who care for people suffering from mental illness, like a spouse or a girlfriend or a boyfriend, often face similar issues. I was completely broken. I already have anxiety. I was also having panic attacks.” Rhea left Sushant’s home on June 8, saying that it was at his behest.

Addressing claims that she decided to leave Sushant based on the advice Mahesh Bhatt gave her and their relationship, Rhea said the filmmaker was a ‘father figure’ in her life and would address her as ‘child’ while she always called him ‘sir’. Accepting that she spoke to him at some point on June 8, Rhea said, “I spoke to Bhatt saab because he is like a father figure for me. I called him to say I don’t have it in me to go ahead. He (Sushant) has asked me to leave and I am completely broken. He asked me to think of my father and go home, to be strong for my father. Bhatt saab told me you cannot break down to this level. This conversation was misconstrued, I was made into his girlfriend when he has a daughter my age. Don’t I have the right to consult someone?”

She said she has been in touch with Mahesh since the time they did a film, Jalebi, together. “I called Bhatt saab the same day I left Sushant’s home. In fact, Sushant and Bhatt saab also had a lovely relationship. He knew Bhatt saab much before I came into the picture. Sushant have even tweeted about how good he felt after meeting Mahesh Bhatt. Why isn’t anyone listening to Sushant then?”

To the question as to whether Mahesh Bhatt asked her to leave Sushant, Rhea’s straightforward reply was “No”. “And even Bhatt saab had asked me to leave Sushant, it would not have worked. It is a matter of the heart.”

Sushant died on June 14 in Mumbai. The Central Bureau of Investigation has taken over the probe in his death in August. In the separate case, the Enforcement Directorate is also looking to any financial irregularity angle in the case. The Narcotics Control Bureau has also joined the case to investigate a ‘drug angle’.