If Hansraj has Shah Rukh Khan, KMC has Amitabh Bachchan, says Satish Kaushik at...

No matter how far ahead people may reach in their professions, they can never forget the good ol’ college days. And this was evident at the Kirori Mal College (KMC) alumni meet. However, this meet was special in several ways. For one, bureaucrats, actors like Satish Kaushik, Sushant Singh, Indresh Malik and lyricist Raj Shekhar came together to raise funds for the renovation of the Frank Thakurdas memorial auditorium at their alma mater.

Actor Amitabh Bachchan, an alumnus of KMC, recently donated Rs 51 lakh which is to be used for the auditorium renovation work, the probable cost for which is 7 crores, shared Dinesh Khattar, principal, KMC. He says, “We started the process around six months back. An alumni committee has been formed, wherein we approached the famous alumni’s. We met Mr Bachchan who he has been very supportive. He’s expected to visit us in the month of May. Satish arranged alumni meet in Mumbai also. We are approaching the government also, and we are hoping we are able to raise funds for it.”

A proud alumni, actor Satish Kaushik, who is also the chairperson of the Alumni committee for the renovation of Frank Thakurdas memorial auditorium said, “KMC se joh talent nikalta hai, woh kisi college se nahi nikalta, Hansraj College se Shah Rukh Khan nikla tha, Kirori Mal se Amitabh Bachchan nikla hai.” He also reminisced about his theatre days, and thanked Players (KMC theatre society) for fuelling his love for theatre.

For Singh, the campus trip comprised an auditorium visit, being invited to the hostel after party and a 25 year-old apology to a former teacher for not reading a play. “Hum sab ki yaadein ek si hai, utne hi break up hue honge, utne ki patch up hue honge, utni baar manju ban ke ghume honge, K-nags gaye honge. Audi aur fine arts ke beech mein, English honours kam, Canteen honours zyada kiya tha. It’s good to be back. I went inside the audi, it was very depressing. For the new generation, we’ll make sure they get the same opportunities and facilities we had,” he said, adding, “Kafi time, main Players ne naraz raha,kyunki mujhe yahan as actor khaas mauka mila nahi. Uss samay main bilkul charsi lagta hai. LSR se hamari dosti purani rahi hai.Jab bhi hum competition ke liye jaate hai hum play ka naam hi aisa rakhte hai, ki unke college ke naam par ho.Humare time pe ek play kiya tha- Latently socially relevant. LSR waale humesha khud ko prize dete the. Hum play ka naam hi le ke gate the LSR. Now you don’t give a prize to LSR, we’’ll see,” (laughs).

While lyricist Shekhar made the attendees sing in unison to his poems dedicated to his college days, Indresh had the audience in bouts of laughter with a stand-up comedy act, making fun of Delhi aunties and liquor shops.

The meet was not without some protest by the students who shouted slogans because of not being invited to the alumni meet. “Hostelers ka toh haq hota hai, ki woh har event attend kare. Jihone saara kaam kiya unko toh leke nahi gaye,” said a student on condition of anonymity.