Rhea Chakraborty
2020 was a challenging year for India, with the Covid pandemic bringing the country to a halt and the demise of many favorite celebrities like Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput. The death of Sushant Singh Rajput especially shook the country. During this time, his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty came into the media attention and many people were holding her responsible for this tragic incident.
Amidst this constant media trial and criticism, Rhea had to move away from Bollywood and find a way to rebuild her life. This challenge turned into a new opportunity for him.
New Beginnings: Podcast and Fashion Label
Riya first launched her podcast ‘Chapter 2’, which symbolized a fresh beginning for her. The inspiration from the podcast inspired him and his brother Shomik Chakraborty to start a fashion brand ‘Chapter 2 Drip’.
According to a report by Financial Express, the main objective of the brand was to give people their voice and create a new identity. According to Riya, the difficulties she faced in her initial phase made her stronger and this thinking became the foundation of her brand.
40 crore success story
Launched online in August 2024, the brand got its biggest boost when Kishore and Ashni Biyani invested Rs 1 crore in seed funding. This investment helped the brand grow rapidly.
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In less than a year, the value of Chapter 2 Drip reached almost Rs 40 crore. The brand’s first physical store also opened in the posh Bandra area of Mumbai. The store has products like acid-wash denim worth Rs 5,500 and T-shirts worth Rs 2,500, which are specially designed for Gen Z.
Journey from online to offline
FE report said that the reality is that initially Rhea was a little worried about opening the store, because the rents on Bandra’s Linking Road are very high and the overheads also increase. But his brother Shomik convinced him. They realized that a physical store would provide them an opportunity to build community and connect directly with people.
Riya says that it was very important for her to connect people with her brand and ideas through stores and events. If she had remained online only, this experience would not have been possible.
From Bollywood to Entrepreneurship
Although Rhea has clearly said that she has no plans to return to Bollywood right now, her entrepreneurship journey gives her a more private and down to earth life. Unlike the media chaos of 2020, he now has control and stability in his life.