The Bengali entertainment industry is in shock, anger, and deep grief after the sudden death of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee. Now the entire Tollywood ecosystem is preparing to stop work indefinitely.
The 43-year-old actor died on March 29 while shooting for the Bengali television soap ‘Bholebaba Paar Karega’. According to reports, Rahul was filming a sequence in water along with co-actor Sweta Mishra.
The scene reportedly involved dance performance in knee-deep water. However, the situation suddenly turned dangerous when both actors allegedly slipped into ditch. The fall happened unexpectedly, and panic spread across the set.
Both Rahul and Sweta were immediately rushed to Digha Hospital. While Sweta survived, Rahul could not be saved.
Industry calls for indefinite strike
The tragedy has triggered strong reactions across the Bengali entertainment world. The West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists’ Forum held an emergency meeting on April 5 to discuss the incident.
The meeting was attended by several senior figures, including Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Shantilal Mukherjee, and Swaroop Biswas, along with producers, directors, technicians and channel representatives.
After the discussion, the forum issued a statement saying that the reasons behind Rahul’s sudden death are still unclear. Because of this, members unanimously decided to go on an indefinite strike starting April 7 at 7 am.
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The strike will continue until proper safety and security measures are ensured for artists and technicians on all shooting sets, whether indoor or outdoor.
The statement also clarified that another meeting would take place on April 7. However, shoots already happening outside Kolkata or outside West Bengal will not be affected.
Wife requests privacy amid grief
Rahul’s wife, actor Priyanka Sarkar, shared an emotional message after the tragedy. She asked the media and public to give the family space during this painful time.
She said the loss has deeply affected their child, Rahul’s mother, and the entire family. And, she requested everyone to respect their privacy and allow them to grieve with dignity.
Despite her grief, Priyanka joined the protest march demanding accountability. She also filed a police complaint against the producers of the show.
Members of the Bengali film industry organised a procession from Technicians’ Studio to Radha Studio, covering around one kilometre. Protesters carried placards reading “Justice for Rahul.”
The rally saw participation from several prominent names, including Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt, Srijit Mukherjee, Kaushik Ganguly, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rudranil Ghosh, Riddhi Sen, and Kaushik Sen.