Dancer Drowns In River During Shoot Of Riteish Deshmukh's Raja Shivaji In Satara, Body Found 2 Days Later

In a shocking incident, a 26-year-old dancer, who was a part of Riteish Deshmukh's upcoming film, Raja Shivaji, tragically died during the shoot after drowning in a river in Maharashtra's Satara. The incident took place on Tuesday, and his body was found two days later, on Thursday.

As per reports, the deceased has been identified as Saurabh Sharma. Riteish and the team of Raja Shivaji were shooting in a village named Sangam Mahuli, located at the confluence of Krishna and Venna rivers in Satara district. During the shoot of a song, colours were thrown around, and as the shoot ended, Saurabh reportedly went near the river to wash his hands.

Enticed by the river water, he decided to enjoy a swim in the river, and while doing so, he swam into the deep waters, and that is when he got swept away by strong water currents.

Local police and administration were alerted about Saurabh being missing post the shoot, following which rescue teams got into action and with the help of locals, launched a search operation. However, the operation had to be halted on Tuesday night due to darkness, but the dancer's body was not found even as it went on for the entire day on Wednesday.

Saurabh's body was finally found by rescue teams on Thursday around 7:30 am. A case of accidental death has been filed.

Meanwhile, the shoot of Raja Shivaji was halted following the shocking tragedy.

For those unversed, Raja Shivaji is a bilingual Marathi and Hindi film, based on the life of Maratha warrior and ruler, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Riteish will be seen playing the lead in the film, and it is also being directed by him.

The official release date of Raja Shivaji is yet to be announced.