India's Oscar entry ‘Chhello Show’ actor succumbs to leukemia days before movie release
2 min read 11 Oct 2022, 06:53 PM ISTKoli, who plays the character of the friend of the protagonist in the Gujarati film, passed away even before the movie released
PremiumNEW DELHI : India's entry for the Oscars 2023 is Pan Nalin-helmed Gujarati film Chhello Show (The Last Film Show). The 10 year old actor of the movie Rahul Koli passed away on 2 October, succumbing to leukemia after battling it for four loong months.
Koli, who plays the character of the friend of the protagonist in the Gujarati film, passed away even before the movie released. The movie is slated for 14 October release.
Rahul, who hails from Hapa town in Gujarat's Jamnagar district, died of leukemia, nearly four months after he was hospitalised at the cancer hospital in Ahmedabad, his father Ramu Koli said on Tuesday.
Rahul has played the role of the friend of the nine-year-old protagonist Samay (Bhavin Rabari) in the Gujarati coming-of-age drama "Chhello Show". The film was nominated as India's official entry for the 95th Academy Awards.
"Rahul was looking forward to watching the movie on the big screen. He used to say that the release of the movie would launch his future, little knowing that he would die before October 14," Koli, an autorickshaw driver, told PTI.
Rahul was diagnosed with leukaemia- the cancer of the body's blood-forming tissues- this year. He was initially treated at a Jamnagar hospital. After remaining in the hospital for two weeks, he was admitted to the Ahmedabad cancer hospital four months ago.
Rahul had only seen the trailer of the movie. He was very keen to watch it in the theatre, the grieving father recalled. Koli said the makers of the movie helped them a lot with Rahul's treatment. "When he (director Nalin) came to know about it, he extended all possible help to us. He was even planning to shift Rahul to Mumbai," said Koli.
Rahul was selected for the role through an audition conducted in Jamnagar. "He was picked for an audition from a government school at Hapa where he lived with his family," said Lalit Joshi, a Jamnagar-based theatre artist. The movie is inspired by Nalin's own memories of falling in love with movies as a child in rural Gujarat and is set in a remote rural village of Saurashtra. The film portrays the story of a nine-year-old boy and his lifelong love affair with cinema when he bribes his way into a rundown movie palace and spends a summer watching movies from the projection booth.
"Chhello Show", which features Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta, had its world premiere as the opening film at the Tribeca Film Festival in June last year. It won multiple awards during its festival run, including the Golden Spike at the 66th Valladolid Film Festival in Spain where it also enjoyed commercial success during its theatrical run.
What is Blood Cancer?
Leukaemia is cancer of blood-forming tissues, including bone marrow. Blood Cancer is cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the body's ability to fight infection.
