Pratyusha Banerjee (10 August 1991 — 1 April 2016) was an Indian television actress. She had appeared in numerous television and reality shows. Banerjee first gained recognition in 2010 in the television show '' Balika Vadhu''. This was her first leading role in the television series where she earned her household name "Anandi". She had participated in the reality show '' Bigg Boss 7'' (2013).

Career

She started her career with a supporting role in the show '' Rakt Sambandh'' which was followed by playing the role of Vaani (best friend of Akshara played by Hina Khan) in ''

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai ''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' (), also known by the initialism ''YRKKH'', is an Indian Hindi-language romantic family drama television series that airs on StarPlus and streams on Disney+ Hotstar. It premiered on 12 January 2009 and is the Li ...

'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...

. She was selected for the lead role in 2010 Indian television series '' Balika Vadhu'' as an adult version of Anandi, replacing

Avika Gor Avika Gor (born 30 June 1997) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi and Telugu films and television. She is famously known for playing the role of Anandi in '' Balika Vadhu'', for which she won Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2009 in the cate ...

. According to the actress, she was chosen via a talent hunt, surpassing the contestants Nivedita Tiwari from Lucknow and Ketaki Chitale from Mumbai. Following the success of the show Banerjee participated in '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' (season 5). However, she left the dance show, stating that she was not comfortable during the dance rehearsals. In 2013, she was one of the most competitive contestants in the seventh season of the show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally availabl ...

''. She appeared in '' Power Couple'', along with her partner Rahul Raj Singh. Banerjee had played vital roles in '' Hum Hain Na'',

Sasural Simar Ka ''Sasural Simar Ka'' () is an Indian Hindi-language television soap opera produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms that aired from 25 April 2011 to 2 March 2018 on Colors TV. It is the second longest-running Indian television series on Colors TV, a ...

and '' Gulmohar Grand''. Her most notable work was in the serial Balika Vadhu and she was popularly known as Anandi.

Personal life

Pratyusha was born in a Bengali family in

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...

city of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

to Shankar and Soma Banerjee. Her father is a known social worker and runs their own NGO. In 2010, she left Jamshedpur to work in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Death

On 1 April 2016, Banerjee was found dead by hanging in her Mumbai apartment at the age of 24. According to the postmortem report the cause of death was

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...

. However her parents allege she was murdered by her boyfriend, actor-producer Rahul Raj Singh, and passed off as suicide. They have pressed charges against him. After this in 2018 her boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh has filed an application before the Dindoshi sessions court in Mumbai, requesting to be discharged from the case. Passing the blame on the late TV actress' parents, Rahul in the application says that her parents had taken heavy loans in her name and the actress being unable to pay her debts was frustrated and hence took the huge step.

Television

Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Pratyusha 1991 births 2016 deaths 2016 suicides 21st-century Indian actresses Indian television actresses Actresses from Jamshedpur Actresses from Jharkhand Bengali actresses Female suicides Suicides by hanging in India Artists who died by suicide