Tollywood bans Magic Moments, lifts indefinite strike
ADVERTISEMENT
Amid the ongoing controversy in Tollywood following actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee’s death, the West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists’ Forum and the Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India on Tuesday banned production house Magic Moments Motion Pictures and its creative head, Leena Gangopadhyay. The forum also announced that the indefinite suspension of all film, TV, and OTT shoots will be lifted from Wednesday (April 8).
Banerjee, 43, drowned while shooting for the television show Bhole Baba Par Karega, near Talsari Beach in Odisha, on March 29. Bhole Baba Par Karega is produced by Magic Moments Motion Pictures, led by Leena Gangopadhyay and Saibal Banerjee.
“We will not work with those who took Rahul away from us. It has already been announced. The production [house], those associated with it, associated with that name… we will not work with any of them from this moment, until we come to know, either publicly or from the court, how Rahul left us,” actor Prosenjit Chatterjee told reporters. “Shooting for films and TV shows will start from tomorrow.”
Echoing Chatterjee, veteran actor Ranjit Mullick said, “We are unable to work with them (those responsible) at this time. We want to know the truth. We want to know what happened there.”
On the industry’s demand for strict safety protocols and standard operating procedures, Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India president Swarup Biswas said, “There are some technical issues. However, the main issue will be resolved in the next 15 days.”
Actor and Member of Parliament Dev announced that the ban on previously restricted artists will be lifted within 72 hours, following discussions with relevant parties. Stressing the need to avoid “ban culture” and “non-cooperation”, he admitted that the recent events cannot be ignored. “For now, there will be non-cooperation with the concerned company and its director until they can prove their innocence.”
He also emphasised that the industry should function as one unit rather than separate groups, noting that many artists and directors had been affected. Reflecting on the situation, he said the absence of work made them realise how unfair such bans were, and assured that steps were being taken to rectify such incidents.
Rahul Arunoday Banerjee rose to fame with his role in the 2008 blockbuster Chirodini Tumi Je Amar, also starring Priyanka Sarkar. He then went on to star in films such as Na Hannyate, Byomkesh Phire Elo, Zulfiqar, Rajlokhi O Srikanto and more. He was also a part of several television shows such as Tumi Ashbe Bole, Horogouri Pice Hotel and Desher Maati. He was also an avid theatre personality, a writer, and was known for his popular Bengali podcast, Sohoj Katha.