Choreographer Dhanashree Verma is back in the spotlight, and it’s not for her personal life. A recent promo for the upcoming reality show Rise and Fall on Amazon MX Player features a line from her that has social media users buzzing, as many believe it’s a dig at her ex-husband, cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal.
In the promo, Dhanashree, playing a “ruler,” delivers a punchy line to another contestant: “The queen doesn’t need to become a star, there’s already a queue of interviewers. And by the way, I’ve shut down all the sports channels in the penthouse.”
The comment has been widely interpreted as a direct jab at her ex-husband. Dhanashree and Chahal, who married in 2020, reportedly separated in 2022 and finalized their divorce in March 2025. According to media reports, the divorce settlement included an alimony of ₹4.75 crore, which led to her being trolled online and labeled a “gold digger.” Chahal himself seemed to respond to the situation, reportedly wearing a T-shirt on the day of their divorce that read, “Be Your Own Sugar Daddy.”
Dhanashree recently spoke about the backlash in an interview with Humans of Bombay, stating, “You know that people are going to blame you. Before I had even known that this T-shirt stunt had happened, we were all aware that people were going to blame me for this.”
Rise and Fall, hosted by Ashneer Grover, divides 16 celebrities into two groups: “rulers” who live in a luxurious penthouse and “workers” who are confined to a basement. The show’s lineup includes Arjun Bijlani, Kiku Sharda, Kubbra Sait, Nayandeep Rakshit, and Dhanashree.