The year 2020 for Bollywood was not about box-office releases but big revelations that came to light as Narcotics Cantrol Bureau (NCB) started investigating the drug angle in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.  From drug peddlers link, nepotism to depression,  the tragic death of young Bollywood actor shook the conscience of the entire nation followed by outrage on social media and questioning of many celebs.

The 34-year-old actor, who had acted in hit films like ‘MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ and ‘Kai Po Che’, was found hanging at his Bandra residence in Mumbai on June 14. His death resulted in an uproar with demands for justice. From a criminal complaint filed in a local court against 8 persons, including the likes of Salman Khan, Karan Johar, and Ekta Kapoor for allegedly forcing the actor to commit suicide, to summons sent to some of the top names from the industry, all kinds of allegations were made bringing to light the murky side of Bollywood.

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mahesh Bhatt, Aditya Chopra amongst many other were questioned by the Mumbai police.

In July, Sushant’s father, KK Singh, lodged an FIR in Patna against six people, including Rhea Chakraborty. In the FIR, he accused the actress of transferring Rs 15 crore from the actor’s bank account and abetting his suicide. Singh also accused her family members of threatening the late actor with making his medical reports public.

However, in a video message Rhea said that the “truth shall prevail” and added that she has full faith in the judiciary.

In August, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the case. Also, Rhea and her brother Showik Chakraborty were interrogated by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the wake of a money laundering case lodged against them by Sushant’s father. Soon, The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) role came into the picture after the investigative body filed an NDPS case against Rhea and two others on ED’s request to probe the drug angle in the case. After this development came to light, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut claimed that if the NCB starts the investigation, many B-Town A-listers could end up behind bars.

“”If narcotics Control Bureau enters Bullywood, many A-listers will be behind bars, if blood tests are conducted many shocking revelations will happen. Hope @PMOIndia under swatchh Bharat mission cleanses the gutter called Bullywood,” she tweeted.

Soon, ED summoned talent manager Jaya Saha and Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya in connection to the money laundering probe. On the other hand, CBI continued to grill Rhea on issues related to Sushant’s medical treatment, medicines administered to Sushant and mention of drugs in her chats. However, in a TV interview, Rhea said that she has never consumed drugs and Sushant was the one who used to take marijuana. She also said that the actor was suffering from depression from a very long time, something that his family refused to accept.

In fact, soon after Sushant’s death, many Bollywood stars including Deepika Padukone emphasized on mental well-being and why it is important to speak up. She later received backlash on social media for cashing in on someone’s death.

Rhea and her brother were later arrested by NCB and were kept in custody for a few days, the actress has been released on bail with no traces to be found of her whereabouts.

What also made the headline was when A- list stars like Deepika was questioned by NCB as one of her chats with her manager emerged in which the actress was allegedly discussing drugs with her manager. Gradually, more names from the Bollywood industry surfaced as NCB  widened its interrogation and grilled Sushant ‘s former business manager Shruti Modi and Saha. Other actresses like Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan were too called up by NCB and very recently Arjun Rampal. Comedian Bharti Singh and her husband were arrested for possession of drugs at their home and were later released on bail.

While Sushant’s death case by CBI is still underway, Bollywood received a big jolt in the form of the drug probe, which is still on. All eyes are on 2021 to see what the new year will bring for the industry.