Death of actor Rahul Banerjee: All film, TV shooting in Bengal suspended from Tuesday
Tollywood has come to a standstill after the demise of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee. Due to this incident in Odisha, all shoots across the industry were suspended from April 7, 2026.
Bengali film industry has come to a standstill after the demise of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee. The West Bengal Motion Pictures Artistes Forum announced that all film and television shoots will be suspended from April 7, 2026 as the industry demands strict safety protocols for the cast and crew.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting on Sunday, which was attended by key artistes and technicians including Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Shantilal Mukherjee and Swaroop Biswas as well as several directors, producers and channel representatives.
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The West Bengal Motion Pictures Artistes Forum on Saturday filed an FIR against the directors of the production company responsible for the serial for which Rahul was shooting at the time of his death. The FIR was lodged at the Regent Park Police Station and it names the directors of the Magic Moments motion picture.
According to Rupesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police, the charges in the FIR include criminal conspiracy, causing death by haste and negligence and giving false information. The complaint was filed by Shantilal Mukherjee, general secretary of the forum, and was supported by Rahul’s wife Priyanka Sarkar, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srijit Mukherjee and other industry stalwarts.
Police sources said a zero FIR was registered, allowing a complaint to be filed at any police station wherever the incident took place. The FIR will be transferred to the police jurisdiction where the incident took place for further investigation.
What happened to Rahul Arunoday Banerjee?
Rahul Arunoday Banerjee is believed to have died while attempting to rescue a female co-actor after she fell into deep water on a rugged beach in Talsari, Odisha during a shoot on March 29. His post-mortem report revealed that his lungs were filled with large amounts of sand and salt water.
The co-actor was rescued immediately, but it took time to get Rahul out. The 42-year-old actor, writer and podcast host was rushed to Digha State General Hospital, 11 km from Talsari, where doctors declared him brought dead. The production house denied allegations of negligence and said it had permission to shoot.
On Saturday evening, actors, technicians, producers and exhibitors organized a rally demanding justice for Rahul. The participants wearing black badges marched about 1.5 kilometers from Technician Studio to Raha Studio near MR Bangur Hospital.