The actor disappeared after rehearsals July 10 for the third play he was due to appear in that began performances July 16. According to a police report, the 53-year-old actor was last seen July 10 at 6:18 PM as he left the Royal Court, walking in the direction of the Sloane Square tube station. According to a news report, Scotland Yard was contacted by officers in Sussex on July 17 and told that the body of a man matching his description had been found near cliffs at Splash Point in Seaford, East Sussex, on July 12. He was formally identified July 17, and his next of kin have been informed. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

Bhattacharjee had already appeared in the Royal Court's The President Has Come to See You and Pigeons as part of the season, and was due to appear in this week's production of Talk Show, which was re-cast.

As well as appearing at the Royal Court, he had also appeared regularly with the RSC (including the all-Asian Much Ado About Nothing staged last year that played a season at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre), Almeida and the Young Vic.