In a new video posted on social media on Saturday, Tollywood actors Dev and Subhashree Ganguly have spoken out against what they described as a growing “ban culture” in the Bengali film industry.

This comes a day after announcing that actor Anirban Bhattacharya will be part of their upcoming film DeSu 7.

On Friday, Dev and Subhashree shared a video announcing Bhattacharya’s inclusion in the project. Bhattacharya has not been getting work in the industry in the recent past because of an alleged ‘ban’ on him by the Federation of Cine Workers and Technicians of Eastern India.

On Saturday, Dev-Subhashree shared another video where they addressed the issue of ‘ban culture’ more directly, calling for an end to the practice of banning artists.

Referring to Bhattacharya’s inclusion in DeSu 7, Dev said, “Yesterday, Anirban joined our film. Our industry is no longer divided. The time has come for us to fight together. I have been against ban culture from day one. If an artist is deprived of work, how will they sustain their family? A wrong message is also being sent that our industry bans people arbitrarily. I do not want that perception to spread. That is why we are working with Anirban. And Anirban is extremely talented.”

He further appealed to industry technicians, adding, “I want to say one thing to our technician friends — including Anirban does not mean insulting you. It means trying to take the Bengali industry forward. There are others who are banned and are unable to work. I request that all bans be lifted. The time has come to raise our voices. To those spreading negativity, I would say — do not use your power to block work.”

Backing Dev’s stance, Subhashree said, “We must take steps to ensure this ban culture becomes history. No outsider will come and do this for us. We have to do it ourselves to grow our industry. Banning an artist, a director, or a technician effectively means banning the entire work. Instead, we should think collectively about how to create more opportunities.”

Dev also raised concerns about the potential consequences of such practices, stating, “If, hypothetically, after being banned, an artist takes their own life, who is responsible? It is us. Everyone has an age limit — after a certain point, people do not have the same time or opportunities to work. I appeal to all stakeholders — we are one family now. We should end this ban culture and build a healthy environment.”

Meanwhile, Dev also extended support to a make-up artist who has allegedly been out of work for two years due to a ban.

On April 7, make-up artist Simran Pal posted a video stating that she has been unemployed for the past two years. She claimed that despite repeatedly raising the issue with guild secretary Bapi Malakar, no resolution was reached. She also wrote to federation president Swaroop Biswas, but to no avail.

Her post gained traction on social media on Saturday, following which Dev shared it on his Facebook wall, writing, “I am with you. The production manager of my Desu 7 will get in touch with you.”