A Protest Turned Bitter: The Jeetu and Payel Feud

A grieving community just wanted justice for a friend. Instead, they got a messy, public mudslinging match. We’ve all watched well-meaning protests get completely derailed by inflated egos, and the Bengali television industry is serving up a prime example right now. It’s deeply uncomfortable to watch people use a tragedy as a stepping stone for personal drama.

Here’s the breakdown of the chaos. Actor Jeetu Kamal recently joined a protest demanding justice for the tragic fate of actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee. But Jeetu didn’t just march. He brought a framed picture of himself, slapped a floral garland on it, and placed it right next to Rahul’s photo. He claimed it was a strike against the Artist Forum. Critics immediately labeled it a cheap publicity stunt. Things got much worse when his television co-star, Payel De, publicly called him out. She revealed that after the cameras stopped flashing, Jeetu allegedly abandoned Rahul’s garlanded photo under a tree at Technician Studio. Actors Jisshu Sengupta and Indrasis Roy apparently had to step in and respectfully rescue the picture.

Is this really about justice or just cheap publicity?

This is where the story gets really frustrating. This industry spat exposes a highly toxic underbelly in the entertainment world. When a serious tragedy occurs, the absolute focus should remain firmly on the victim. Yet, the Tollywood Artist Forum is currently playing referee to fragile egos. Payel didn’t hold back her disgust on social media. She questioned if Jeetu simply forgot to take his colleague’s picture home alongside his own. Other industry names like Rupanjana Mitra and Bidipta Chakraborty quickly jumped into the comment section to agree, with some saying Jeetu doesn’t even deserve to honor Rahul.

What’s actually happening here is simple:
Who: Bengali television actors Jeetu Kamal and Payel De.
What: A fierce social media war over a highly controversial protest stunt.
Why: Jeetu left a garlanded photo of Rahul on the street to spite the Artist Forum. Payel publicly shamed him, and Jeetu fired back.

Jeetu isn’t backing down. He fired back at Payel, who coincidentally plays his ex-wife on their current television show. He claims he left the pictures near an electrical box at the studio on purpose. It was supposed to be an unavoidable reminder of his official complaints to the producers. He even threw in a highly sarcastic apology. He told Payel she’s perfectly educated, and suggested she’s just blindly following orders from higher-ups to attack him. It’s a classic deflection tactic. You can’t just disrespect a solemn moment and then hide behind union politics. Ultimately, the actual message of the protest is completely lost in the noise of this bitter celebrity feud.