17-7-2024
On 17 July, another special event was scheduled for the students of St. Albert's College. For the promotional tour of their new film Level Cross, the lead actors and the director came to the school for a Q&A session with the students. The film industry in India is huge. In the West we are a little familiar with the phenomenon of ‘Bollywood’, but this turns out to be only a small part of the entire Indian film industry. Almost every state also has a thriving scene. And often its own signature films as well. Are the Bollywood films, often featuring internationally known Indian film stars, shot in Hindi. But here in the south, you have Tamil films, from Tamil Nadu, Telugu films, from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Kerala too has a thriving film industry, with its own Malayali films and its own film stars. In fact, many of the local film stars often also star in different language areas and associated films.
By this time Simon had given up hope, and had gone out to get something to eat. We were due to teach at two o'clock. I had already given up hope on this, and a little later I got an app from Simon that it would indeed not go ahead.
During the rest of the programme, the artists were sung all the praises. They gave a short performance, and some students were allowed on stage to ask a question. And of course, all the girls wanted a hug from Asif Ali, and all the boys wanted a selfie. Everyone also wanted their picture taken with Amala. The director came off a bit short in that regard, although he did get plenty of questions from the audience.
The stars coming to St. Albert's this day are Asif Ali, actor, Amala Paul, actress and Arfaz Ayub, director. Most Indian actors and actresses are Muslims or Christians. You won't come across many Hindu actors. The same goes for the trio visiting. All three have already made their mark in the Malayali film industry and are immensely popular. Even well before half past 12, the time that the session was supposed to start, Baccinelli hall on campus was packed with students, photographers and news cameras.
As befits true stars, the protagonists arrived an hour late. All this time we just had to wait quietly. Music was played and occasionally the presenters (two students) spoke to the audience in a rousing voice. At half past one, it became clear that they were really coming: the photographers and cameramen thronged together to the entrance of the hall, moving in a clump with them. The cheers from the audience became deafening. I wasquite relieved that I had earplugs in.
Alternating with the superstars, there were performances with St. Albert's house band, and the Dance Club. Both groups were formed only recently and are active for the first time this school year. The presence of the famous artists was therefore used to inaugurate the clubs. St. Albert's house band provided a performance with several popular Malayali songs. The Dance Club provided a varied performance combining traditional and modern dance. For one dance, Amala Paul was also hoisted onto the stage to join in.
Finally around three o'clock, the programme concluded. The superstars left and the hall slowly emptied. In the kitchen, Father Shine was still enjoying his lunch. The television was on internet news site Manorama, where an item about the stars' visit to st. Albert's was played. It was also covered on news site Asianetnews. As I was sitting right behind the actors, I also appeared on screen a few times. This was pointed out to us several times by the Fathers, who thought it was hilarious. But even more important was the fact that St Albert's got positive coverage.
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