No one wanted to work with me: Rhea Chakraborty talks about difficult career phase

Rhea Chakraborty has opened up about the painful years when no one wanted to work with her, a phase that kept her away from mainstream acting. Nearly seven years after facing intense public scrutiny, the actor is now set to make her comeback with Hansal Mehta’s upcoming series.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Rhea spoke about the difficult period and revealed how she had almost made peace with letting go of her acting ambitions. “Letting go of this dream of acting, which I had worked towards for over a decade, took many sessions of therapy. Ihad to stop thinking about it because I couldn’t have it; Ididn’t get acting opportunities," she said.

The actor shared that she initially turned down the project when it was offered to her. “Hansal sir and the writer asked me what was stopping me. I told them I had left acting and they said that’s all the more reason I should do it because it does not matter whether I do well or not. Now I’m glad I said yes, it was different coming on set, such a long life has been lived in the last seven years. It’s like cycling, something you never forget."

Beyond her professional return, Rhea became emotional while talking about the women who stood by her during her toughest moments. “My girl friends have shown me what true friendship is. To be loved for no reason and at the cost of their lives and livelihoods being in trouble is phenomenal," she says, calling singer-actor Shibani Dandekar “like a sister."

She also revealed that Shibani lost brand endorsements for publicly supporting her - something Rhea learned only later. “I’m grateful to have such women in my life, who lift each other up. On one hand I saw the worst side of humans but on the other side I also experienced the most beautiful side of humanity."

Rhea was last seen in theatres in Chehre (2021) and later appeared in Roadies (2023, 2025) while hosting her podcast Chapter 2 (2024–26).