Actor Rhea Chakraborty has opened up about losing her actor-boyfriend Sushant Singh Rajput and coping with life after that.

“The truth is, mental health is not understood in this country at all. We are taking strides and I am happy that youngsters are now talking about it. But, if someone is famous and has mental health conditions, they (people) don’t understand it. They are like, ‘He has fame, success. Why is he depressed?’” she said at the India Today Conclave 2023.

Rajput reportedly died by suicide on June 14, 2020. After that, the actor came under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), facing several accusations. She and her brother, Showik, were jailed, too.

Talking about her time in jail, the actor said there is a lot that she has learnt, including good and bad. “My biggest learning was when I saw people in jail grab on to any iota of happiness that they found. If they find happiness for two minutes, they will laugh the loudest and they will be the happiest. It’s so rare that they fully snatch it.”

Remembering Rajput, Chakraborty said the void can never be filled. “I miss him and it’s going to be very difficult to live the rest of my life without that friend, that partner, that companion. But, life has happened to both of us and one has to move on.”

Sharing how she has been coping with Rajput’s death and all that followed, she said: “The thing is I faced a personal loss. Moving on is one thing that makes us human. It makes us survive, it helps us keep going no matter what happens in our lives, be it tragedy, pandemic — or in my case, jail. You want to move on. I am really looking forward to moving on. It has been hard to live a normal life again, like going for a walk, to a salon for a haircut or going for dinner with your parents. I was going through a person’s loss in my life and there was so much media attention. I wasn’t allowed time to grieve... I am grateful that I am able to lead a normal life again now.”