KOLKATA: On April 7, members of the Bengali film and television industry observed a day-long cease work at Technicians’ Studio to draft safety SOPs for shoots, following the tragic demise of Rahul Arunadoy Banerjee, who drowned in the sea while shooting for ‘Bhole Baba Paar Karega’ at Talsari beach. The same day, actor-TMC MP Dev flagged the issue of “ban culture” in Tollywood, urging Prosenjit Chatterjee, working president of the West Bengal Artists’ Forum, to hold talks with Swarup Biswas, president of the Federation of Cine Technicians & Workers of Eastern India and lift bans on artists within 72 hours.
Within two days, the Directors’ Association of Eastern India (DAEI) responded positively, agreeing to withdraw its case against the Federation before the Competition Commission of India. Several actors and directors, including Anirban Bhattacharya, Riddhi Sen, Subrata Sen and Indranil Roychoudhury, have been facing unofficial bans. While some link Dev’s move to casting Anirban in his upcoming film, many see it as a push for unity.
In a letter to Prosenjit, DAEI president Saibal Mitra said the body is ready to resolve restrictions and initiate withdrawal of both its case and related defamation suits filed by individual directors. Dev, currently campaigning across Bengal, thanked the directors’ body.
“Let us move away from the culture of bans, except in the most extreme circumstances and instead work towards building a stronger, more united industry. I truly believe that a peaceful coexistence within the industry is the need of the hour, where differences can be resolved through dialogue and mutual regard,” he said.
However, Biswas on April 7 maintained that lifting bans is not straightforward, given the prolonged legal battle fought by technicians. Meanwhile, on Thursday, actress Priyanka Sarkar, wife of the late Rahul Arunadoy Banerjee, thanked the Bengali film fraternity for standing united above party politics. Ten days after his death, she said the tragedy had brought the entire industry together and expressed hope that once safety SOPs are implemented, such accidents will no longer claim the lives of actors or technicians.