Misleading claims, show off air? Rahul Banerjee’s death raises more questions

The death of Rahul Arunoday Banerjee on Sunday has shocked the industry, raising questions over safety lapses and conflicting accounts during the shoot of Bhole Baba Par Karega. The 43-year-old drowned at Talsari Beach, with reports citing either a risky solo shot or post-pack-up mishap.

Postmortem findings suggest prolonged struggle, fuelling concerns over delayed rescue, lack of medical aid, and missing permissions.

The question doing the rounds in the industry is whether or not the TV serial will continue to be aired on the channel.Show to be aired or not?The serial saw renewed popularity after Rahul and Sweta Mishra joined the cast, replacing an earlier track led by Madhumita Sarcar and Neel Bhattacharya.

Following a recently aired wedding sequence, the team travelled to Talsari Beach to film honeymoon scenes, which continued till Sunday evening – when the drowning incident occurred. With no shoot scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, the show’s future now remains uncertain. A source close to the production team said, “The channel could either choose to end the show or bring in another production house to carry the story forward.

The final decision now rests with the channel. If the serial continues, a key question will be who might replace Rahul in the lead role, though no final decision has been made so far.” Meanwhile, a section of viewers has already expressed on social media that they may lose interest in the show without Rahul. All eyes are now on the channel’s next move.

Brushing off responsibility?An actor from Tollywood, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged, “The production is now claiming Rahul chose to go mid-sea to deflect from their own negligence – there was no police permission or disaster management team. In TV, actors don’t improvise; the script is everything. If Leena Gangopadhyay says no sea shot was written, how was a mid-sea drone shoot allowed? Why arrange a drone at all? With Rahul gone, answers may remain elusive – only Sweta Mishra can shed light.

We hope the police investigate thoroughly.”

Calling out hypocrisyActor Sudipta Chakraborty, in a strongly worded social media post, called out the industry’s hypocrisy following Rahul’s death. She said shoots are routinely halted for events and functions, yet no such pause is observed when an actor dies – leaving little space for colleagues to grieve. Questioning the notion of the industry as a “family,” she said artists are treated as replaceable, expected to carry on despite personal loss, and restrained by the fear of losing work.

She also mentioned how artists remain controlled by unseen forces, exposing the industry’s lack of empathy, power imbalance, and the illusion of unity.

None of the actors have received call times till Tuesday, so I’m unsure if the shoot will continue. As far as I know, existing episodes will last till Thursday – I don’t know what the fate of the serial will be –Bhaskar Banerjee, actor on the TV serialMakers are reluctant to continue the TV show after the tragedy. No official statement has been issued by the channel or production house–A source close to the productionThe victim’s family has filed no complaint so far. Action will follow if final postmortem reveals anything suspicious. Interrogations are being done by the OC –Angshuman Saha, East Midnapore SP