Siddharth, Divyenndu and Abhishek Banerjee reunite at Kirori Mal College’s alumni meet; see inside pics
DU's Kirori Mal College held its alumni meet recently. The starry affair had Bollywood actors Siddharth, Divyenndu, Abhishek Banerjee and others in attendance.
Kirori Mal College’s Alumni meet was a rush back of memories for the faculty as they met their old students. As for the former students turned actors in attendance, who were visiting their college years later, it was a trip down memory lane.
Abhishek Banerjee: Keval Arora se daant bhi khaayi hai
"It's like I don’t have any college memories because I feel it is in the present, I am still living them. That’s the thing about your college, it doesn’t fade away at all. Jitna bhi aap mujhe jaante hain, jo bhi kala mere andar hai, jo bhi mai kar paaya hu zindagi mai, it’s because of KMC and the dramatics society The Players. I am very happy that we have come for the occasion of reconstruction of the auditorium. Usi auditorium se hum sab nikle hue hain, wahin humne sab kuch seekha, bahut saal tak vo auditorium bachon ko nahi Mila tha, now they are going to get it back. So, it’s a happy and proud moment for all of us. Keval Arora se daant bhi khaayi hai, bahut saara pyaar bhi liya hai. He is the best teacher I could have asked for… He has not only taught me acting English but also some life lessons."
Ashish Verma: We used to scare people after our theatre rehearsals
“There are several memories that I have of my college days. We used to do a lot of theatre, so raat ko hum rehearsals karte thay and we used to be in costumes most of the time. Hum apne muh ko safed karke, kaali chaadhar odhke, bahar divider par baith jaate the and logon ko daraate thay slow motion mein bhaag ke… One day, a PCR van came and we were picked up by them (laughs)… It's been so many years still the staff is the same, they look the same. And one peculiar thing is that you can smell your college, it’s the smell that remains the same. If you go to the auditorium that smell is still there so there is an immediate connection because of that strong sense, which is pretty nostalgic. I am here for the auditorium as the renovation is beginning now. Jab vahan par paani girta tha, hum katori aur baaltiyaan lagaaya karte the. We have literally aged with the auditorium.”
Divyenndu: Zindagi ke itne ahem saal beete hain inn lawns mai, library mai
“There are so many memories. The Players is everything for me… Whatever I am today, it’s because of that society and KMC. Innumerable nights have been spent in the auditorium rehearsing the plays and sharing camaraderie with all my colleagues, it was a dream. Humaare staff advisor Mr Keval Arora, shabhaashi bhi dete the achhi performance par but class miss karne par dant bhi padti thi, unse milna humesha acha lagta hai. Zindagi ke itne ahem saal beete hain inn lawns mai, library mai, harr ek chappe chappe ke saath memories hain. Even outside the hostel, there was a small canteen, we used to have chai and bread pakoda there… I’ll go to all the hangout spots as well.”
Siddharth: I will always be their student
“I am here today because we have finally got all systems in place to build our dream auditorium which is in ruins right now. All of my happiest memories in KMC, as an actor, working with Keval Arora in The Players, learning from my peers, was in that auditorium. We are waiting to see it come back to its former glory. Every time I come back to college, it feels like I am back home for the first time. I am not overwhelmed right now because I am seeing the same faces that have comforted me when I was in college, Mr Saumyajit Bhattacharya, Shahana, and Keval, they all are a huge part of our character building, I will always be their student. The love for what you do and the discipline with which you do it are the learnings that I took from here. It has helped me charter my way to become an actor and not a star for the last 22 years and I still wear that badge on my sleeve.”
Keval Arora: My earlier schedule used to be to take classes in the morning and then theatre in the afternoon
"Since I am also a part of the programme organising, it’s just a flood of too much distraction and everything else… I retired in 2022 but I was asked by the college to stay on with the theatre group and work with them. In fact, my earlier schedule used to be to take classes in the morning and theatre in the afternoon. Now, I do theatre in the morning and in the afternoon, evening and night toh hota hi hai! So, I’ve never gone away and in that sense, it has been a great retirement so far. It has been overwhelming to meet all the old students because they are all together at the same time. I’d love to meet them separately one on one, it will happen when there is an alumni of The Players. Poori raat chalegi baatein tab, I hope that happens someday."
Dinesh Khattar: It is such a proud feeling that we have such successful alums
“It’s an absolutely great feeling… We didn’t have alumni meet for the last 20 years' we had one in 2000. But when I became the principal in 2017, we arranged two alumni meets, one in Mumbai, where Amitabh (Bachchan) and Satish (late actor, Satish Kaushik) were also present, and one was in Delhi. Then for five years I was not the principal, but last year when I took over the charge, we had an alumni, and this year as well we contined the tradition… It's absolutely great and such a proud feeling that we have such successful alums, including Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Kabir Khan and many more. The nurturing ground of these people, that auditorium, is set to be renovated after 15 years. Bahut zabardast feeling hai sab old students se milna. Auditorium ki vajah se ek national movement bann chuka hai. Aise toh auditoriums harr jagah colleges ke bann rahe hain, koi khaas baat nahi hai, but iss auditorium ka national value hai. There are so many actors present today to attend the alumni especially and to be there for their auditorium!”
