Mumbai: Setting a precedent of sorts, Zee Media Corporation Ltd Chairman-Emeritus Subhash Chandra has ‘apologised’ to Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty who was brutally targeted by the media in the aftermath of her boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
Chandra’s unexpected gesture – which ripped open a Pandora’s box in media circles – came days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s ‘closure report’ stating there was no foul play (in SSR’s death) and it was a case of suicide.
Posting on X, Chandra said he believed that the CBI closure report had come in the SSR ‘murder’ case “due to lack of credible evident”.
“No scope for ambiguity, hence it means no case is made out. In retrospect, I feel that Rhea Chakarborty was made out an accused by media, led by Zee News through its editor & reporters (at that time),” confessed Chandra.
The Zee honcho admitted that in retrospect, he feels that Rhea was painted as an accused by the media, led by Zee News through its editor and reporters (at that time).
Chandra contended how the other television networks had followed Zee News – all of which subjected the actress to a savage ‘media-trial’ though the case was still under probe.
“I do apologize to Rhea, even with no involvement of mine. As a mentor of Zee, advise them (the ex-Editor and other reporters) to be brave and apologize. I am like a one-faced Rudraksh-bead, same inside and outside. Call spade a spade,” Chandra signed off his post.
Storm in social media
Chandra’s regretful expressions kicked off a storm in political and social media with many questioning “why so late”, and “will you say sorry to the Muslim minority for continuously and falsely targeting them”, etc.
Eyebrows also went up in political circles at the Zee boss’ regrets and they question if it was linked to Chandra’s bitterness after he fell out of favour with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party a few years ago, shattering his big ambitions in public life.
Some media houses and their Editors, who had attempted a balanced coverage of the SSR death case and Rhea’s alleged role in it, recall how they were ferociously hounded by Chandra’s Zee channels, blatantly discarding professional norms.
Bollywood circles, speaking to ‘The Perfect Voice’ off-record, acknowledge how Rhea became a victim of media bias, many journos hounding and jumping the gun to point accusing fingers at her, but all this virtually destroyed her budding film career.
At one point, there was political speculation that the All India Trinamool Congress headed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was considering fielding Rhea for the Assembly or Lok Sabha elections, but the plans came to naught for unknown reasons.
Chandra’s calculations
Subhash Chandra was elected as an independent member of Rajya Sabha from Haryana in 2016 with a backing from the BJP. He contested the Rajya Sabha election as an independent from Rajasthan in 2022 again with the BJP’s support. However, he lost it. The media baron started keeping a distance from the ruling BJP since then. During the campaign of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he had directed the editors of his media network not to give much air time to the speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
This is for the first time in the history of Indian news media industry that the owner of a media network has tendered an apology for the coverage of his network and passed the blame on the Editor for the ‘wrong’ reporting. Sudhir Chaudhary, the then Editor of Zee Group, has not yet responded to Subhash Chandra’s stand.
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