The Media Is Absolutely Unbelievable!

Pratyusha Banerjee's tragic death triggers a feeding frenzy as all sorts of 'friends' gather to spill dark secrets and get their 15 minutes of fame.

In the 72 hours since the death of popular television actress Pratyusha Banerjee, there have been at least three press conferences organized by the increasingly bizarre denizens of Mumbai's TV world, each spinning out sensational narratives, which have little bearing on the reality.

From Dolly Bindra, who stole into Pratyusha's Kandivali home when her body was still to be brought down, and covertly videotaped the scene, to a host of others who turned the young actress's tragic death into a sordid celebrity circus.

The first 'media invite' came from actors Jay Bhanushali, Kamya Punjabi, Leena Dias, Shashank Vyas and Adaa Khan claiming to decode 'Pratyusha's Death Mystery'. Celebrity lawyer Falguni Brahmbhatt joined in.

Leading that conference was Pratyusha's rumoured ex, TV producer Vikas Gupta who took centre stage dressed in a Superman Tee and coordinated white-red shoes. Gupta immediately got down to the task at hand; pointing fingers at Pratyusha's boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh. "There is evidence that Rahul physically assaulted Pratyusha, many people know this. The relationship had begun to disturb her," he snarled as if auditioning for a Balaji TV show. Of course, there was no 'evidence' that he could produce.

The speed at which Vikas hurled allegations at Rahul was only rivalled by his and Pratyusha's close friend actress Kamya Punjabi's smoke breaks. "Rahul slapped Partyusha at a party, twice. There were marks on her neck and nose," she announced dramatically when her turn came to speak up.

Minutes before that the 'friends' had stopped Rahul's former business partner Sheetal Malviya and actress Heer Patel from coming on to the dais saying, "It didn't make sense as they were not as popular as the others."

Earlier in the day, a Marathi starlet who visited the hospital where Pratyusha's body was taken, and where all the TV cameras had congregated had come out screaming and crying and even fainted. She was scooped up by her supposed boyfriend, all under the gaze of the camera.

Her histrionics were nearly matched by Rakhi Sawant, who registered her presence dressed in pink shoes and matching headphones, which she kept on for some reason and a flashy, fake Gucci tee. Sawant, who like Pratyusha was also a Bigg Boss contestant, pushed her way through the crowds for a dekko of the body. She began to fight her way by screaming, "Let me go in, let me go to her, I am in shaawwk... shawwk!"

At both Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital as also at Pratyusha's home, actress Sara Khan, Mouni Roy and Adaa Khan came with their hair and make up staff, making sure they got a quick touch up before going in front of the media. The TRPraking tactics gained momentum with wedding planner-socialite Leena Dias, who claims to be Pratyusha's 'closest' friend, who told everyone that Rahul's ex-girlfriend Saloni Sharma was the primary cause for her misery. "Pratyusha had called me one night before her death and confided that Saloni used to trouble her," Leena revealed. 'Superman' Vikas was quick to chime in, "Saloni had tortured Pratyusha and Rahul never took any action."

It's worth noting here that Dias had curiously cropped Pratyusha out of a string of pictures from a Holi bash, while Gupta had not spoken to the deceased actress in the three months prior to her death. He had offered her a role in one of his shows, which she had twice turned down.

Not to be outdone by the scream queens and 'Superman', another Bigg Boss loser, Ajaz Khan, managed to get the cameras on him by proclaiming authoritatively at the funeral, "This is murder. We have to get to the bottom of this."

Vikas was quick to pick up this line of thought, reiterating, "The cause of the marks on her body was Rahul. We have the evidence. If police are saying he is not involved then they are wrong. If the cops cannot handle this, then the crime branch will take care of it," before continuing in the same vein, "We saw Rahul eating chips." No doubt, that's evidence of a sinister act.

Designer friend Rohit Verma, who designs to turn up wherever the cameras are, said, "I had suggested a coral and gold dress for Pratyusha's wedding scheduled in Jamshedpur next month." He teared up as he revealed this momentous information and quickly regained poise by sipping on his double latte.

'Superman' Vikas wasn't done yet, "If Pratyusha had been pregnant, she wouldn't have died. She always wanted to be pregnant. But there is no pregnancy. Pratyusha had contacted a lawyer for a legal case against Rahul 10 days ago. There is a strong reason behind her suicide and whoever is behind this we will get them. We want justice," he thundered.

When asked if the 'We hate Rahul' brigade had officially registered their statements with the police, Leena told the media, "The police has not called any of us, but we want to give our statements."

Given all the eyeballs these press conferences garnered, another set of Pratyusha's 'friends' called a press conference at an upscale resto-bar at Andheri on Monday. Rakhi Sawant has also called the press to Oshiwara Police Station at 1 pm on Tuesday to share 'important documents' and has promised to reveal many 'secrets'. We can't wait!

See Pic

1. Vikas Gupta, Falguni Brahmbhatt and Kamya Punjabi at a press conference for Pratyusha
2. A starlet who fainted outside the hospital is carried out
3. Dolly Bindra shares a videotape of Pratyusha online
4. Ajaz Khan makes an entry
5. Rahul Raj Singh with Pratyusha in happier times
6. Rohit Verma with a colleague
7. Rakhi Sawant
8. Adaa Khan