10-year-old 'Chhello Show' child actor dies of cancer
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While the cast and crew of Chhello Show (Last Film Show) are awaiting the film's theatrical premiere on Friday, a tragic development has dampened the jolly ride of India's official entry to the 95th Academy Awards. Rahul Koli, one of the child actors featured in the film, has passed away. The 10-year-old was reportedly suffering from leukemia and breathed his last on October 2.
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He was being treated at Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute
As per media reports, Koli was diagnosed with blood cancer, or leukemia, after the shooting for the Gujarati film had been completed. He was undergoing treatment at the Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (GCRI) in Ahmedabad, where he succumbed earlier this month. Koli's family held a prayer meeting at their native Hapa village near Jamnagar, Gujarat, on Monday, reported Times of India.
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'He said our life would change after October 14'
"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," recalled Koli's father Ramu Koli. "He was so happy and would often tell us that our life would change after October 14. But he left us before that," he added.
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Family will come together to watch Koli onscreen
Although devastated, Ramu promised that the family would be watching Chhello Show on Friday together to cherish Koli's passion and witness his hard work coming to fruition. Koli was their eldest child, and the family had to reportedly sell their rickshaw to pay for his cancer treatment. Apparently, after the filmmakers came to know about this, they got the family their rickshaw back.
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'Chhello Show' will represent India at Oscars 2023
Koli is one of the six child actors part of Pan Nalin's much-acclaimed Chhello Show. In September this year, the Film Federation of India selected it as India's official submission to the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars 2023. Inspired by Nalin's own memories of falling in love with movies as a child, Chhello Show features a nine-year-old boy fascinated by cinema.