Ban on Bengali filmmaker Rahool Mukherjee lifted, Prosenjit Chatterjee's upcoming film on track

As the ban has been lifted after much controversy and two rounds of meetings, Rahool is set to be back as the director after he was replaced by Soumik Haldar.

In a statement given to IBNS after his ban was lifted, Rahool said, "I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood by me during this time.

"It's an honor to return to my position as a director and work on the upcoming film of SVF with Bumba Da (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Anirban (Anirban Bhattacharya). Let our cinema continue to touch hearts and inspire!"

Rahool, who shot to fame directing Dev starrer Kishmish in 2022, was announced as the director of an untitled project starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya, Priyanka Sarkar by SVF recently.

Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) president Swarup Biswas has reportedly claimed Rahool violated the rule by not informing the federation or the Directors' Association of Eastern India about his foreign visit for shooting.

After the ban, SVF replaced Rahool with director Soumik Haldar, who directed Abar Bibaho Obhijaan last year. Rahool was incorporated into the film as a creative producer by SVF.

The ban on Rahool had sparked a massive row in the Bengali film industry with several prominent directors as well as actors lashing out at the federation's move.

Filmmakers Srijit Mukherjee, Arindam Sil, Anik Dutta, Anjan Dutt, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, director-Trinamool Congress MLA Raj Chakraborty, actor Riddhi Sen led the protest against the federation.