Hundreds gather to catch a last glimpse of Anandi

Hundreds of people gathered outside Sidhartha Hospital in Goregaon to catch a last glimpse of Pratyusha Banerjee, who ruled the hearts of millions of TV viewers by her show Balika Vadhu. Even though the police shooed them away, the fans attempted to resist their efforts to bid adieu to their ‘Anandi’.

The actress (24) committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her Goregaon residence on Friday. She was rushed to Kolikaben Hospital by her producer boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh but was declared dead. Her body was then taken to Siddharth Hospital, Goregaon (west) for the post-mortem on Saturday.

Several television personalities visited the hospital to console Pratyusha’s family who were waiting in the hospital to receive her body.

Among the ones assembled, 64-year-old Umma, came with two of her neighbours from the nearby area in the afternoon after she heard that her Anandi’s post-mortem would be conducted at the hospital. “I will not be able to see her in the TV serial anymore so I wanted to see her body for the last time. I have been watching the serial for years so I have developed a special feeling for her,” said Umma.

Fans irrespective of their age and gender were standing under the scorching sun just to catch a glimpse of the actor for the last time. In order to manage the situation, the police tried to clear the area and shoo the fans away but it did little to deter them.

“I have only seen her on TV and always wanted to see her in real life.

She played a strong character in the serial so we did not expect her to end her life like this,” said Suresh Vora, one of the visitors who came along with his family to the hospital.