Pratyusha Banerjee Death Anniversary: Shashank Vyas Remembers Balika Vadhu Co-Star; 'Gone For 10 Years, But Never Forgotten'

The television fraternity can never forget April 1, the day Balika Vadhu actress Pratyusha Banerjee was found dead at her Mumbai home. Remembering the late actress and his co-star, Shashank Vyas took to Instagram to pay tribute to her. He shared a story in her memory, remembering his co-star even 10 years after her demise.

Shashank Vyas shared a black-and-white photo of Pratyusha Banerjee on his Instagram story. He wrote, "Gone for 10 years, but never forgotten," and added, "You'll always live in my memories."

In Balika Vadhu, Pratyusha Banerjee played the grown-up Anandi, while Shashank Vyas played Jagdish “Jagya” Singh, Anandi’s husband. Their on-screen pairing as a married couple became extremely popular and is remembered as one of Hindi TV’s iconic couples.

Pratyusha died on April 1, 2016. She was found hanging at her Mumbai residence, and her death was ruled a suicide. Her then-boyfriend, Rahul Raj Singh, was charged with abetment to suicide. Meanwhile, Pratyusha’s parents, Shankar and Soma Banerjee, were accused by Rahul of causing her distress and financial hardship.

At the time, Kamya Panjabi and Vikas Gupta had accused Rahul of being responsible for Pratyusha’s death. Speaking on Subhojit Ghosh’s podcast, Rahul said, "Pratyusha had given some money to Kamya around Rs 2 – Rs 2.5 lakh and she asked Kamya to return it. Kamya said she has no work and promised to return late." He further added that he became a villain in the eyes of Kamya and Vikas as they believed he was trying to distance Pratyusha from them. However, according to Rahul, he was only asking her to attend fewer parties and reduce drinking.

Pratyusha Banerjee was a well-known Indian television actress who rose to fame with her role as Anandi in the popular show Balika Vadhu. Born in Jamshedpur in 1991, she moved to Mumbai to pursue acting and gained nationwide recognition after replacing Avika Gor in the show. Her performance made her a household name, and she later appeared in shows like Sasural Simar Ka and reality series such as Bigg Boss 7. Though exact details of her earnings were not publicly disclosed, she was considered a prominent face on television. Her untimely death in 2016 deeply shocked the industry and her fans.