Bengal Artistes not to work with tele soap producers till they get clean chit in actor's drowning

Kolkata, Apr 12 (PTI) A forum of motion picture artistes in West Bengal on Sunday said its members would not work with the producers of tele drama 'Bhole Baba Par Karega' till they are proven innocent in the drowning of an actor and safety arrangements for shooting are improved.
    Banerjee drowned in the sea during a shooting of the tele soap 'Bhole Baba Par Karega' in Odisha's Talsari beach, near Digha in West Bengal, on March 29.
    Senior member of the West Bengal Motion Picture Artists' Forum and veteran actor Prosenjit Chatterjee told reporters after a meeting of the group that a majority of the members were in favour of the decision to continue refraining from working with the producers of the tele-drama.
    "Even now, most people are afraid to work with the two individuals. No one has been able to forget Rahul's death. The issue of safety is of paramount concern for everyone," Chatterjee said.
    "Until they (producers of the soap 'Bhole Baba Par Karega') are proven innocent, no one is willing to work with them. No new projects associated with them will be taken up, unless there is a change in the production," he added.
    The decision was taken following a meeting of the forum, comprising actors and technicians, which deliberated on the safety issues and the way forward in the wake of Banerjee's death.
    Chatterjee explained that the forum was not calling for a boycott. "Tollywood (Bengali film industry) has never banned or boycotted anyone, and it will not do so in the future either," he added.
    At an earlier meeting, the forum, along with federations of technicians, film producers and distributors' lobby had said entertainment channels and production houses have been asked to frame a standard operating procedure to ensure full-proof security of artistes and crew at both indoor and outdoor shootings within 15 days.
    The forum had said artists and crew would have the liberty to not take part in a shooting if they are not satisfied with any aspects of safety measures, and they can't be blacklisted or penalised for it.
    The Odisha Police and their Bengal counterparts are probing into the actor's death after FIRs were lodged against the production house based on complaints from the forum and his wife, alleging lack of safety measures at the shooting.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)