Tollywood announces memorial walk for Rahul, demands action

Members of the Bengali film and TV industry have announced a memorial walk on April 4 for the late Rahul Arunoday Banerjee. The walk will begin from Technician Studio and culminate at Radha Studio, uniting actors, technicians, and industry stakeholders. In a joint appeal to key bodies – Eastern India Motion Picture Association (EIMPA), Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI), WB Motion Picture Artist Forum, and TV serial producers – the fraternity has demanded a thorough probe into the incident, citing alleged safety lapses, and called for fair compensation for the family.A three-hour suspension of shoots has been requested to enable participation. The appeal is backed by Indraadip Das Gupta, Srijato Bandyopadhyay, Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Srijit Mukherji, Arindam Sil, Rana Sarkar and Rudranil Ghosh, among others.Speaking to us, director Arindam Sil said: “Eta chelekhela hocche. The way this is being handled is abysmal. Stern action needs to be taken against the production house for negligence. I have requested Priyanka (Sarkar) to join the walk but I am unsure if she is in the mental state to be a part of it.” He also said Priyanka is supposed to file the FIR post the production house’s answer to Artist Forum’s questions. He added, “In my opinion, Priyanka should’ve filed the FIR sooner. This production house has a long history of mismanaged and shoddily planned shoots.”Life can’t be taken for granted. The Artists’ Forum has given the production house 24 hours to clear all doubts about the accident. If they fail to give satisfactory answers, stern action will be taken – Arindam SilWe deserve to know what happened on set that day. This march is a peaceful call for answers and accountability – so no family ever suffers such a huge loss again – Srijato BandyopadhyayIf they fail to give answers, necessary steps will be taken: WBMPAF to production houseThe West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists’ Forum (WBMPAF) released a statement late on Wednesday evening saying that in the days since the accident, conflicting accounts from the production team have raised serious concerns. Key questions persist: Why did the accident occur? Were adequate safety and rescue measures in place? Why was shooting done at a high-risk location? The WBMPAF has formally sought a clear explanation from the production house. The statement said: “On behalf of our forum, we have written to the production house seeking a clear explanation regarding this incident. We hope they will provide appropriate answers. If they fail to do so, we will take the necessary steps.”