Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 29, 2017)

Since TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee, best remembered for playing Aanandi in Balika Vadhu, allegedly committed suicide on April 1 last year, numerous theories surrounding her death have surfaced. Days before her first death anniversary, another controversy is playing out.

Pratyusha's close friend, actress Kamya Punjabi is releasing a short film titled 'Hum Kuchh Keh Naa Sakey', in memory of the late actress. It's said to be the last project Pratyusha worked in. The film is believed to echo her real-life story of heartbreak and even has a character named Rahul, inspired by her live-in boyfriend, Rahul Raj Singh.

Kamya, along with other telly folk, will release the movie online this Saturday.

Controversy broke when Kamya made her plans public. The film's producer and costume designer, Neerushaa Nikhat, says she was surprised to see Kamya hog the limelight. “I was close to Pratyusha. We shot the film one-and-a-half months before her death. No one knew about it since I didn't discuss it after her sudden death. I didn't want to seek mileage from it. A year later, I thought it would be fitting to release the film in her memory. We couldn't shoot the end, so we edited it accordingly.”

Kamya, however, says she announced the film because, as a popular face, she has the leverage to seek “justice for Pratyusha”. Kamya says, “I am in touch with her parents, who will also attend Saturday's event. Apart from acting in the movie, I am also its narrator.”

Calling it a publicity stunt, Rahul Raj Singh says Pratyusha didn't shoot for the film. “They say they shot the film one-and-a-half months before she passed away. Pratyusha never told me about a shoot. I have her handwritten diary in which she wrote her daily schedule. There is no mention of this film. I would like to know the exact dates and location of the film's shoot.”

Rahul feels the makers have put together visuals from various points in time. “If you see the promo, it shows a chubbier Pratyusha. This was how she looked two years ago when she had gained weight,” says Rahul, adding, “Instead of garnering publicity in her name, let her rest in peace.”
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Subhash K Jha (DNA; March 29, 2017)

On Monday, Mumbai woke up to reality-show contestant Kamya Punjabi’s announcement that she had made a short film featuring her late friend Pratyusha Banerjee which she will release on her first death anniversary.

Pratyusha’s boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh scoffs at Kamya’s aspirations. “What film is she talking about? How and when did she shoot this film with Pratyusha? I’ve a record of all of Pratyusha’s activities in the months before I lost her. She was always with me. We went together to Ranchi for my brother’s child’s naming ceremony. Then we went to Goa. When did Pratyusha shoot this so-called film with Kamya?”

Describing it as “bogus” and a “fraud”, Rahul says the purported film is a cruel joke. “This is nothing but an attempt to make money in a dead person’s name. How can this woman continue to use Pratyusha’s name to get publicity? Only I know what her thoughts and feelings were. She was planning a big birthday party for me when she was snatched away from me.”

A year has passed since Pratyusha’s death, but Rahul claims to be still grieving as though the tragedy happened yesterday. “I start crying suddenly for no reason. I had fallen in love with her. And now when I’ve lost her I cannot bear to see her name being used cheaply by people whom she hardly met.”

Rahul is all set write a book on Pratyusha. “It’s an idea that I’ve been living with for some time now. It came to me after I found a diary written by her in my house. Through that diary I got to know her even better. I want to write my book on the Pratyusha that only I knew, and the girl I’d have known if she had only lived longer.”