Popular Bengali film and television actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee died off Talsari beach near Digha (in Orissa) after drowning during the shooting of a TV serial on 29th March. He was pulled out by the unit members and rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Rahul was 43 years old.
Rahul had stepped into the water during the shooting. He wanted to shoot an extra scene after pack-up was announced. It was an unscripted drone shot which he insisted on shooting. The shot was being taken on Rahul and Sweta Mishra in knee-deep water. When a small wave hit Sweta, she felt uneasy and left. But Rahul wanted a second take with him facing the camera. He went deeper into the water. A big wave hit him, causing him to slip and swallow water. Unit members, technicians and lifeguards rushed to rescue him after he went under and did not resurface for some minutes. He was immediately taken to the Digha sub-divisional hospital where he was declared dead. On the way to the hospital, he responded twice , but was pronounced dead on arrival. A post-mortem is expected to be conducted.