After witnessing the plight of a troubled mind in “Welcome to Chippendales,” one’s determination to cater to their mental health is further reinforced. We often see that people, especially men, somehow manage to bring their egos into play when they are asked to seek help for their emotions, as they consider it to be a sign of weakness. A lot of times, even when everything is going in your favor, you do not feel happy and satisfied in the manner you ought to. People find it weird when they see a person who has attained material success going through such rough patches in their life, and that’s where you realize that often, wealth and success have nothing to do with one’s emotional well-being. In our opinion, Steve Banerjee wouldn’t have made such horrendous decisions, and he wouldn’t have been in such a messed-up state of mind if he had gotten help at the right time. He needed somebody in whom he could confide and the kind of person who would tell him how to be in control of his own mind. But therapy was a far-fetched concept in the early nineties, not only for American society but for everybody in general, and that is why Steve, devoid of any help, became a victim of his own vulnerabilities.
Story So Far
When we saw the first episode of “Welcome to Chippendales,” we felt that we were going to witness a classic underdog story of a petrol pump attendant breaking some eggs and making an omelet out of the American dream. We saw an ambitious and humble man who had saved almost his entire salary for years and wanted to start a backgammon club. Steve Banerjee had big dreams, and he was ready to toil hard and open the doors of opportunity for himself. He started the backgammon club, but things didn’t pan out the way he wanted them to. Steve came up with the idea of opening a male strip club, but his partner Paul Snider didn’t think that it could work. Steve named his strip club “Chippendales,” and he knew that his innovative idea had the potential to take American society by storm. He met Nick De Noia when the Emmy-winning choreographer came to his club with his friends. Steve hired him on a temporary basis to polish the performance of his dancers and put together a scintillating show. He realized that teaching the dancers one routine wouldn’t do any good and that he needed Nick to come aboard permanently. Nick joined the Chippendales, and he was given complete creative control by Steve. What should have been a very productive partnership turned into something extremely distasteful. Seeing Steve getting jealous of Nick’s presence, Irene reiterated time and again that everything was going great so that he could see the brighter side of things and stop suspecting the intentions of everyone.
Chippendales was featured on national television, and even during that moment, Steve felt restless watching Nick De Noia taking all the limelight. Irene noticed the self-destructive instinct in Steve, and she knew that he could potentially destroy everything that they had created just because of the fragility of his mind. Steve had hired Nick himself, but over a period of time, he started feeling quite jealous of him. People had made Nick the face of the company, and Steve, being the insecure person that he was, felt sidelined. Nick had a good rapport with the dancers, and he shared a good equation with both Irene and Denise; it almost seemed like he had taken over the place. Steve felt that he was being displaced from his position of authority, but Nick probably didn’t have any such intention, at least in the beginning. Nick was a creative person, and he didn’t like when Steve interfered in his work or didn’t give him the freedom to do things his way. A lot of times, Steve did it intentionally to let him know who the boss was, and that frustrated Nick.
When Nick moved to New York, it felt like things would get better between him and Steve, but it was just the calm before the storm. Steve had given the touring rights of Chippendales to Nick, and though he was getting 50 percent of the profits, he started feeling that Nick was embezzling the funds. Steve finally did what Irene had dreaded from the very beginning: he asked Ray Colon to hire somebody to kill Nick De Noia. Nick’s murder caused an uproar in the media, but the FBI wasn’t able to find any incriminating evidence against Steve. Agent Garriola, who was handling the case, was convinced that Steve was the one who had murdered Nick, and that is why he never stopped chasing the man, even when all the leads turned cold. So, let’s find out in the season finale of “Welcome to Chippendales” if Steve was able to evade conviction or if the FBI was finally able to find some evidence to incriminate him.
Why Does Ray Go To Meet Steve In Switzerland?
It had been five years since Nick De Noia’s murder, but Steve knew that the FBI was still keeping track of his activities. He was very cautious about the calls he made and the people he met, and not once did he talk about his involvement in Nick’s murder. Steve had asked Ray Colon to kill the dancers of a male strip club in London named Adonis, as he believed that they were ripping him off. Steve knew that with the FBI on his tail, it was not a sensible thing to do, but he felt compelled to take the step and once again asked Ray to do the needful. Ray wasn’t able to accomplish the task, so he went to Lucerne, Switzerland, where Steve was staying, to inform him about it in person. Ray and Steve met in a cafe, and how paranoid Steve was feeling was clearly visible through his actions. Ray tried having a conversation with Steve, but he was way too distracted and couldn’t at all focus on what Ray was saying. From the waitress who came to take their order to the manager of the cafe, Steve was suspicious of everyone. He told Ray that he believed that someone was keeping track of his movements, but he didn’t know who it was. Ray tried to calm him down and told him that he was unnecessarily overthinking. All of a sudden, the manager came and told the customers that they were having some problems in the kitchen, and that is why they wouldn’t be able to accommodate them. Steve grew even more suspicious, but Ray somehow convinced him to go back to his room and continue their conversation. As we moved further towards the final showdown, we realized that whatever Steve was feeling was, in fact, true, and he was not merely hallucinating or overthinking.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Ending Explained: Did The FBI Find Evidence Against Steve? Who Inherited The Chippendales?
Steve and Ray came back to the latter’s room, which had been rigged by the FBI beforehand because they wanted to find some incriminating evidence against Steve. Ray first told Steve that he was not able to kill the dancers from Adonis because there was a parade happening on the streets, and he had lost his weapon. But soon, Ray realized that he was not able to make Steve confess to his crimes, and he needed to try some other ploy. So, in order to extend their conversation and somehow make Steve testify against himself, Ray told him that what he said about the parade was not true and that, in reality, he couldn’t muster the courage to go and kill the dancers. Steve got infuriated after hearing that, though he didn’t realize that both stories were not true. The FBI had caught hold of Gilberto Lopez, the hired gun who had murdered De Noia, and through him, they had reached Ray Colon. Ray had admitted to following his boss Steve Banerjee’s orders, but the FBI needed more proof because they knew Ray Colon’s confession wouldn’t hold up in court. Agent Garriola and his team knew that unless and until they had a strong case against Steve, there was no point in filing charges. Ray Colon was working for the FBI, and he had gone to Switzerland to make Steve confess to his crimes. The conversation became heated, and Steve finally accepted the fact that he had gotten Nick murdered without realizing that whatever he said was being recorded. As soon as the FBI got what they needed, they barged into the room and arrested Steve Banerjee.
Steve was being charged under the RICO Act, i.e., the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It meant that his entire company was being classified as an illegal organization, and contrary to what he believed, the government had the right to seize all assets upon conviction. Steve had thought that after he was convicted, the company would be inherited by his wife and would secure her future. Steve was shocked out of his wits after his lawyer, Cheryl, made him aware of the nitty-gritties of the case. Steve went into a state of mind where he didn’t seem to find any hope, and probably it was at that moment that he decided that it was best if he ended his life. He knew that if he died before getting convicted, Irene could inherit Chippendales. Steve’s whole life flashed before his eyes, and in his last moments, he realized that maybe he had gotten too far and that he couldn’t return now. On October 23, 1994, Steve Soman Banerjee hung himself inside his cell, ending his rather miserable life. The government couldn’t seize his assets, and Irene could inherit Chippendales, as Steve had always wanted.
When Steve’s body was being taken away in an ambulance, one of the police officers asked who he was, and his colleague told him that he was the owner of the famous Chippendales Club. Only if Steve could have heard that police officer telling his colleague how much his wife loved the place, he would have thought twice before committing suicide. Steve Banerjee felt like an outcast until the very end, and his judgment was clouded by negative thoughts. Today, Chippendales tours all around the globe, and it has become everything Steve always envisioned it to be.
“Welcome to Chippendales” is a 2022 Drama Biopic Series created by Robert Siegel.
