Rahul Banerjee's Wife Priyanka Sarkar Joins Film Body As They File FIR Against Producers Of TV Show

Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee's untimely death due to accidental drowning while shooting at a beach has sparked a debate on safety standards in Tollywood. The West Bengal Motion Picture Artists’ Forum on Saturday (April 4) filed an FIR at Regent Park Police Station against Magic Moments Motion Pictures Pvt Ltd, the production house behind Bhole Baba Par Karega, seeking an investigation into Rahul Arunoday Banerjee's death.

The forum alleged that directors Saibal Banerjee and Leena Gangopadhyay were engaged in a “criminal conspiracy”.

West Bengal Motion Picture Artists’ Forum lodges an FIR against Bhole Baba Par Karega

Kolkata Police said the complaint was treated as a ‘Zero FIR’ against the producers, accusing them of shooting in a “negligent manner”, risking human lives, according to a report in the Indian Express.

Forum members, including actors Prosenjit Chatterjee and the forum’s general secretary Santilal Mukherjee, addressing the press outside the police station, said that the complaint called for a “fair and transparent probe” into the incident.

Forum's statement on Rahul Banerjee's death

“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.

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 read further.

“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,” it added.

Banerjee’s wife, Priyanka Sarkar, also joined the Artists Forum as they filed the police complaint.

Several members of the Bengali film industry, including actor-director Aparna Sen, director Srijit Mukherjee, actress Rituparna Sengupta, Kaushik Ganguly, actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee, Anjan Dutt and others, held a procession from Technicians' Studio to Radha Studio, a distance of around 1 km, carrying placards reading 'Justice for Rahul'.

Rahul died in Talsari, Odisha, on the sets of his Star Jalsha show Bholey Baba Par Karega. He was taken to Digha Hospital, but he was declared dead.