Rahul Arunoday Banerjee death: Priyanka Sarkar joins Artists Forum as they file police complaint against producers

Several actors and members of the West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists' Forum united to demand justice for Rahul Arunoday Banerjee.

Rahul Arunoday Banerjee death: Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee died in Odisha on March 29 after a drowning incident while shooting for the Bengali soap Bholebaba Paar Karega. He died at the Talsari beach in Odisha, film industry sources said. His untimely death has shocked the Bengali film industry, with several stars sharing their condolences. On April 4, several members of the West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists' Forum, including actors from the Bengali film industry, joined together to protest on his death and filed an FIR against the producers of the show.

Rahul Arunoday Banerjee's wife, Priyanka Sarkar, was also present with the members of the forum.

Members demand justice for Rahul

As per the latest update from news agency PTI, senior forum members, including actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and Santilal Mukherjee, told a press meet outside Regent Park police station that the complaint called for a fair and transparent probe into the tragedy.

"We want the real truth and exact circumstances behind the incident to come to light," a forum member said. Actor Rituparna Sengupta was also present at the briefing. Rahul's wife, Priyanka Sarkar, was also present but did not speak to the media.

Statement of the Forum

"On March 29, during the shooting of television serial 'Bholey Baba Par Karega' at Talsari near Digha, our colleague and forum member, actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, tragically passed away due to an accidental drowning," the forum said in a statement on Friday night. "In this regard, the forum, on behalf of its members, sought legal advice to ascertain the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. Accordingly, a formal letter was sent to the production house.... on April 1 seeking clarification," the statement said.

"However, the response received on April 2 was found to be unsatisfactory and inadequate. Since then, various opinions and concerns have also been expressed on social media regarding the incident," the forum said.

Several members of the Bengali film industry held a procession from Technicians' Studio to Radha Studio, a distance of around 1 km, carrying placards reading 'Justice for Rahul'. The rally was led by several known faces of the industry, including actor-director Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt, director Srijit Mukherjee, Kaushik Ganguly, actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee, actor Rudranil Ghosh, actor Riddhi Sen, actor-theatre personality Kaushik Sen, among others.

Rahul was a well-known name in the Bengali entertainment industry. He rose to fame with his role in the 2008 blockbuster Chirodini Tumi Je Amar. He then went on to feature in films like Jackpot, Love Circus, Shono Mon Boli Tomay and more. He was also a part of several television shows such as Geeta LLB, Horogouri Pice Hotel, Desher Maati and Tumi Ashbe Bole, among others.