Kolkata, April 5 (IANS) Artists and technicians in Bengali film and television industry have decided to stop shooting of all serials and films for an indefinite period from April 7, protesting the death of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee and demanding security for the actors.

This was announced after a meeting of the West Bengal Artist’s Forum at Technicians Studio on Sunday.

The actors in Tollywood film industry took to the streets on Saturday afternoon, to condemn the tragic death of Rahul Arunoday Banerjee on March 29 while shooting a Bengali serial in Talsari beach in Odisha.

On Saturday, an FIR was filed at the Regent Park police station in Kolkata by the West Bengal Artist Forum against the production company, which was responsible for the shooting.

On the same day, Rahul’s wife and actress Priyanka Sarkar, went to the Talsari police station from Kolkata at midnight and filed an FIR.

On Sunday evening, the artists once again came together to express solidarity with Rahul Arunoday Banerjee’s family.

Actors Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Shantilal Mukherjee, Anjana Basu, Jishu Sengupta, Rupanjana Mitra, Bidipta Chakraborty and many others were also present at the meeting on Sunday.

On behalf of the Artist’s Forum, Shantilal Mukherjee said on Sunday afternoon that the shooting is being stopped for an indefinite period.

He added, “Yesterday, we filed an FIR at the Regent Park police station on behalf of the Artist’s Forum. We were, are and will be with Rahul Arunoday Banerjee’s family.”

He said the decision to stop shooting was taken by the 4,000 members of the forum, 7,000 technician members of the federation and all the crew.

Shantilal Mukherjee said, “This fight has started for safety and to save the lives of all of us. We are insecure. We are going out for shooting. But I don’t know if I will be able to return or not. Rahul Arunoday Banerjee has taught us. So we will observe a strike from Tuesday morning.”

On behalf of the federation, Swarup Biswas said, “We didn’t want it. But no one is coming forward to take responsibility. For the purpose of shooting, the artists and crew have to do a lot. Sometimes they have to go to the river, sometimes the sea, sometimes the mountains. No one has ever backed down. Everyone risks their lives and moves forward. Everyone tries to do their best. We all want to save this industry. Lakhs of people work in this industry.”

Bengali superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee also said in the same tone on Sunday.

“Artists, crew and everyone need protection during their work. Security should be mandatory for everyone. Because everyone is very scared about this incident,” he added.

From now onwards, there is a demand that an ambulance should be kept at every shoot.

Taking lessons from Rahul Arunoday Banerjee’s incident, the actors and crew have made such demands. Therefore, in addition to demanding justice for the late actor’s death, they have also demanded their own safety.

Actress Rituparna Sengupta said, “Rahul Arunoday Banerjee left us. We will fight till the end. The way he left is not desirable. He left us all together. His death raised the question, ‘Are we safe at all?’ The entire industry has come together and decided to go on a strike.”

Members of the Artist’s Forum and Federation will be present at the Technicians Studio at 10 a.m. on Tuesday to observe the strike.

Director Kaushik Gangopadhyay said, “I will ask all the producers, directors, artists and crew to come this morning. Accidents happen suddenly. They cannot be predicted in advance. However, there should be some rules so that the dignity of the artist and his family remain intact.”

It is to be noted that all movie and tv serial shootings will be stopped from Tuesday.

On March 29, the 42-year-old actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee was shooting for the television series ‘Bhole Baba Paar Karega’.

The late actor entered the water at Talsari, just as the tide came in he was swept away. However, technicians subsequently pulled him out of the water.

Preliminary reports indicate that Rahul Arunoday Banerjee’s death was caused by drowning following which a case of unnatural death has been registered at the Digha Police Station.

The tragic incident has brought the entire Bengali film and television industry to a standstill.

Fellow actors, directors and technicians have expressed shock at the tragic death of the actor. The late actor is survived by his mother, his wife and actor Priyanka Sarkar, and 13-year-old son.

A section of actors in Bengali film and television industry demanded a comprehensive and impartial investigation into his death.

Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, known in the Bengali television industry for his character roles, had been active in television serials for several years.

He shot to fame with his role in the blockbuster ‘Chirodini tumi je amar’ in 2008, followed by hits such as ‘Tumi asbe bole’ (2014), ‘Zulfiqar’ (2016), ‘Byomkesh Gotro’ (2018), ‘Biday Byomkesh’ (2018), ‘The Academy of Fine Arts’ (2025), among others. He had acted in TV serials such as ‘Hargouri Pice Hotel’ and ‘Mohonna’.

–IANS

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