Nothing compares to being honoured by your alma mater: Gulshan Grover
Actor Gulshan Grover who was recently honoured at the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Annual Cocktail Dinner talked to us about varsity life, his preferred haunts and the fest season that was his favourite.
College life is something almost everyone treasures, but it isn’t every day that you get a chance to be honoured by your alma mater. But, actor Gulshan Grover got to live the dream when he was honoured at the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Annual Cocktail Dinner which was held recently in the Capital. The actor talked to us about his recent honour, his love for the varsity and SRCC, and the fest season that was his favourite time of the year.
“I have recieved an honour from the Prime Minister of Norway, the royal family of England, have been honoured at the New York Film Festival and many others for my contribution to cinema, but this feels very different, very surreal. I cannot place this honour in the same category as it is above every other. Nothing compares to being honoured by your alma mater,” he said. “The true foundation of my strength, that made me go out and work around the globe, things that people my industry didn’t really get to do at that time, that all came from the moments and memories of my time in Delhi University. The beauty of Delhi University is that people from different cities, different cultures and diverse economic backgrounds came to build a future here.Each student came to the university with dreams about a bright and successful future, and I was one of those students. The varsity and SRCC really helped me realise my dreams, and for that I am forever thankful. Nobody from my college really has ventured into art, but despite the image of a commerce college, I got to nurture and redefine my love for acting and art there. ”
Talking about his time in the varsity and his favourite haunts, Grover said, “I came from very difficult economic circumstances where affordability was the main criteria, so I had to make do with the meagre resources that I had. But, then the university always had something for everyone. I remember the small tea shop right in front of college that was always a preferred adda, the various college canteens where we had endless conversations, and the little dhabas too. The university was like home for me, and we often used to go chill near Indraprastha College for Women as they’d invite us to play the male characters in various plays since it was an all girls college. We used to hang out a lot at the stalls around IP college and Majnu ka Tila. I recently came back to Majnu ka Tila to shoot for a German film after many years, and the memories came rushing back.”
Grover also recalls how college fests used to be a complete treat for him, and always were a time for dressing up and having fun. “For me, this time of the year was the best time as colleges hosted their fests in this season. People used to dress up fashionably and everyone had so much fun. We used to head to Azad Market to buy old Army jackets and coats from the stalls there to do our bit of dressing up too. One could say we started the trend of refurbished clothes way before it became the ‘thing’ it is today. We had such a greatly enriching and stimulating experience there, and those memories always stay with me,” he said.
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