Rahul Koli, who played Chhello Show in the English version, died of cancer. He was among the film’s six child actors.
Rahul Koli, the Chhello Show or Last Film Show child actor, died of cancer at the age of 15. He was one of six child actors in the film, which is India’s official entry for best international feature film at the 95th Academy Awards.
According to reports, Rahul’s father stated that the late child actor had multiple bouts of fever and vomited blood before his death. He stated that the family will watch Chhello Show together after performing Rahul’s last rites. The film will be released on October 14th.
“On Sunday, October 2, he had his breakfast, and then, after several bouts of fever in the following hours, Rahul vomited blood three times, and my child was gone.” Our family is devastated. “However, after we perform his final purification rituals, we will watch his ‘last film show’ together on the release day on October 14,” his father Ramu Koli told the Times of India. Rahul was his eldest child.
Last Film Show is set at the dawn of the digital revolution, inspired by Pan Nalin’s own memories of falling in love with movies as a child in rural Gujarat. Set in a remote rural village of Saurashtra, the film follows the story of a nine-year-old boy who bribes his way into a rundown movie palace and spends a summer watching movies from the projection booth, sparking a lifelong love affair with cinema.
The film, which stars debutant child actor Bhavin Rabari as Samay, premiered at the 2021 edition of the New York-based Tribeca Film Festival, which was founded by Hollywood veteran Robert De Niro. On October 14, it will be released in theatres. Last Film Show will be screened in 95 theatres across India on the day before its official release, with tickets priced at Rs. 95.
Chhello Show was chosen unanimously over films such as SS Rajamouli’s RRR, Ranbir Kapoor’s Brahmastra: Part One Shiva, Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files, and R Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry, according to FFI president TP Aggarwal.