The Gujarati film ‘Chhello Show’ or ‘Last Film Show’ is India’s official entry to the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars 2023) in the Best International Feature Film category. Rahul Koli, the 15 year old child actor who played a significant role in the film, passed away on October 2 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Rahul Koli, one of the six child actors of ‘Chhello Show’ succumbed to leukaemia, days before the release of the film. He was diagnosed with the disease and was under treatment for the past four months. According to family reports, the child developed a recurring fever which persisted despite medical treatments. When conditions deteriorated, he was admitted to a hospital in Ahmedabad. On October 2, his health condition worsened and he succumbed to death.

Chhello Show is slated to release on October 14 and the untimely demise of the child has left his family devastated. His father drives an auto-rickshaw to earn a living and Rahul was the eldest among the three siblings. In the film, Rahul played the role of Manu, a close friend of Samay, the lead character.

Directed by Pan Nalin, the coming-of-age film Chhello Show is produced by Roy Kapur Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures, Monsoon Films and Chhello Show LLP. It features Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta in major roles. A day before its official release, the film will be screened at 95 theatres across India, with tickets priced at Rs 95 to celebrate its selection at the 95th Oscars.

Sharing the news on social media, director Pan Nilan wrote, “Surprise! Releasing a show earlier! To celebrate India’s Entry into 95 th Academy Awards, 95 Cinemas across India will release the movie on their Last Show of Thursday 13th October at Rs 95!”.

The film will be released by Samuel Goldwyn Films in the USA and by Orange Studio in France. Shochiku Studios and Medusa are bringing the film to Japanese and Italian cinemas respectively.

The film earned accolades from around the globe. It was earlier premiered at the Tribeca Festival, held in June 2021 and was nominated for the Tiantan Awards at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival. It won the Audience Award at the World Cinema section of the 44th Mill Valley Film Festival and bagged the Golden Spike

Award for the Best Picture at the 66th Valladolid International Film Festival (Seminci). The film was also nominated for the Best Feature Film-Avante-Garde Genre at the 23rd Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema. It also grabbed the Luminaries Jury Award – Special Mention at 14th Milwaukee Film Festival.