Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee dies by drowning; film industry mourns loss

Popular Bengali film industry actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee died by drowning on Sunday (March 29, 2026). The film fraternity in West Bengal has been left in a state of shock after the actor’s passing. He is survived by his son and actor wife Priyanka Sarkar.

The actor drowned in the Bay of Bengal near the West Bengal-Odisha border in Talsari during a television series shoot. 

Initial reports have suggested that he entered the water alone after the shoot was wrapped up, and panic spread after he went missing. The film crew present at location managed to pull him out of the water and take him to a nearby hospital, but he was declared ‘brought dead‘ on arrival.

“This is a time of immense grief and deep despair for us. In this difficult moment, we sincerely request space and privacy,” Ms. Sarkar wrote on her social media handle on Instagram. 

He has starred in multiple popular Bengali films and rose to fame with his first movie Chirodini Tumi Je Amar (2008). He later went on to star in multiple other popular films like Tumi Asbe Bole (2014), Zulfiqar (2016), Byomkesh Gotro (2018), Bidaay Byomkesh (2018), and The Academy of Fine Arts (2025).

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also expressed her shock and condolences after the news of the actor’s passing. “I just can’t make sense of how this happened. He was one of my favorite actors and a wonderful person,” Ms. Banerjee wrote on her social media handle, X.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Digha) Mohit Mollah said that no formal complaint has been filed against the death. “We are sending his body for postmortem,” Mr. Mollah said on Sunday (March 29) night. 

Industry mourns 

The Bengali film industry was left in a state of shock on Sunday (March 29, 2026) as many industry members visited the deceased actors house in large numbers and stood by his family. 

Minister Aroop Biswas, veteran actor Prasenjit Chatterjee, Gaurav Chakraborty, actor Sohini Sarkar, and many others visited his home. 

“This is a huge loss for me personally,” actor Sudipta Chakraborty said while visiting the deceased actor’s house.