Tollywood calls indefinite strike over set safety after Rahul Banerjee’s death

The Bengali film and television industry in India’s West Bengal has announced an indefinite strike beginning April 7, demanding urgent safety and security reforms on sets after the tragic drowning death of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee during a serial shoot, industry representatives said.

India’s West Bengal’s Bengali entertainment industry, or Tollywood, has announced an indefinite strike starting April 7 in response to the tragic death of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, highlighting urgent concerns over safety on film and television sets.

Rahul, 43, died on March 29 while shooting the television soap “Bholebaba Paar Karega” after drowning during a scene. Reports indicate that he and co-actor Sweta Mishra were performing a dance sequence in knee-deep water when they slipped into a ditch, drowned and were rushed to Digha Hospital, where Rahul could not be saved.

The West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists Forum issued an official statement following an emergency meeting on April 5 attended by industry figures including Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Shantilal Mukherjee, Swaroop Biswas, directors, producers, and channel representatives. The statement outlined that the strike will continue until proper safety measures are guaranteed for artists and technicians, both indoors and outdoors. Artists already shooting outside Kolkata or the state are exempt. Another follow-up meeting is scheduled for April 7.

Rahul’s wife, Priyanka Sarkar, expressed her grief, urging media and fans to respect the family’s privacy. She also participated in a protest march and filed a police complaint against the show’s producers. The protest, which ran from Technicians’ Studio to Radha Studio, saw prominent industry members—including Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt, Srijit Mukherjee, Kaushik Ganguly, Parambrata Chatterjee, Rudranil Ghosh, Riddhi Sen, and Kaushik Sen—carrying placards demanding justice for Rahul.

Rahul Banerjee was a well-known figure in Bengali cinema, gaining fame with the 2008 blockbuster “Chirodini Tumi Je Amar”. He appeared in films such as “Jackpot”, “Love Circus”, and “Shono Mon Boli Tomay”, and starred in television shows including “Geeta LLB”, “Horogouri Pice Hotel”, “Desher Maati”, and “Tumi Ashbe Bole”. His sudden death has sparked industry-wide outrage over the lack of safety protocols during shoots.