Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee, 43, drowned in the sea at Talsari beach in Odisha during a soap opera shoot, leaving behind his 13-year-old son and actor-wife Priyanka Sarkar. Co-actor Diganta Bagchi said Banerjee went into the water alone after the shoot and got entangled underwater. Crew members pulled him out and rushed him to Digha hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Rahul Arunoday Banerjee was at Talsari beach near Digha in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district on March 29, 2026, shooting for the Bengali soap 'Bhole Baba Par Karega'. Co-actor Diganta Bagchi recounted, "After today's shoot, he went alone to the water but somehow got entangled in something under the water... We pulled him out and rushed him to Digha hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead."
A West Bengal Police officer confirmed Banerjee was declared dead at Digha hospital after being brought from the Odisha beach. "We have contacted our counterparts in Odisha... A case of unnatural death has been registered in Digha police station. We are talking to his production team members and eyewitnesses," the officer said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed grief, stating, "I am shocked, deeply saddened... He was one of my favourite actors... Rahul's sudden passing is an irreparable loss to the Bengali entertainment industry."
Banerjee rose to fame with his lead role in the 2008 blockbuster 'Chirodini tumi je amar', followed by films like 'Tumi asbe bole' (2014), 'Zulfiqar' (2016), 'Byomkesh Gotro' (2018), and 'The Academy of Fine Arts' (2025). He also appeared in TV serials such as 'Hargouri pice hotel' and 'Mohonna'.
Director Raj Chakraborty, who helmed 'Chirodini tumi je amar', said, "I am in a state of shock. He was a spontaneous actor." Actor-director Anjan Dutta noted he had known Banerjee for years and was too shocked to comment further.
