Child actor Rahul Koli, who played a significant role in the film ‘Chhello Show’ (‘The Last Film Show’), succumbed to leukemia. Rahul played the role of Manu in the film, a close friend of Samay, the lead character, in the film.
According to a report in The Times of India, Rahul’s family held a prayer meeting for him in his hometown in Hapa village near Jamnagar. Ramu Koli, Rahul’s father, revealed that his son was looking forward to the film’s release.
“On Sunday, October 2, he had his breakfast and then after repeated bouts of fever in the following hours, Rahul vomited blood thrice and just like that my child was no more. Our family is devastated. But we will watch his 'last film show' together on the release day on October 14 after we perform his final purification rituals," Ramu Koli told Times of India.
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He added, “He was so happy and would often tell me that our lives would change after October 14 (the release date of the movie). But he left us before that,”
Meanwhile, ‘Chhello Show’ director, Nalin Pandya (Pan Nalin), mentioned how the 10-year-old actor was at the hospital, and the team was looking after him but “he could not be saved.”
For the unversed, last month, the film was selected as India's Official Entry to the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards.
Inspired by director Pan Nalin’s childhood in rural Gujarat, ‘Last Film Show’ (‘Chhello Show’) is a Gujarati language film that follows a nine-year-old boy, Samay (Bhavin Rabari), who's ensnared by the magic and science of celluloid film projection and begins to create his own 35mm movie with his friends. Manoeuvring through both social pressures and economic precarity, he pursues his passion for the “film show” with single-minded devotion, oblivious to the technological upheaval hurtling towards him.
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Apart from Rahul Koli, the film stars Bhavin Rabari, Richa Meena, Bhavesh Shrimali, Dipen Raval, and Vikas Bata, and is produced by Roy Kapur Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures, Monsoon Films and Chhello Show LLP. It will be released by Sam Goldwyn Films in the USA. Roy Kapur Films in partnership with PVR Cinemas will be distributing the film in India.
In Indian theatres, the film is slated to release on October 14, 2022.
