It’s quiet inside the conference hall of Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, where students are excitedly waiting for the special guest. Making a smashing entry is Abhishek Bachchan, dressed in a full black suit.
As he enters the hall, he says, “I hope I am pronouncing Kozhi... Kod (Kozhikode) correctly, the moderator for the event Rahul Seth, the faculty of IIM-K, corrects him saying, “Abhishek it is ‘Kozhikode.”
Rahul Seth kicks off the session by quizzing Bachchan Jr. “You are the cynosure of all eyes be it professors, or management students from around the country, how do you feel?” “I am anxious, I am sitting amidst beautiful people around me,” says Bachchan junior, quipping, “Actually I am jealous of you guys for having such a wonderful campus.”
The Bollywood star-turned-sports entrepreneur floored the IIM-K students with his drollness and humour at the Pan-IIM World Management Conference.
Sharing his experience on how and why Indian films stand out from Western films, junior Bachchan quipped, “It is the songs that we produce in our country. It is my challenge, no Western film will have the guts to shoot a song like we do.
In Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa, I was transported from Agra straight to Switzerland to shoot a song sequence with 50 dancers dressed as Roman soldiers accompanying with me in heavy snow! Our directors take viewers for a ride and nobody questions it!”
Talking to this newspaper about his experience in Kerala, Abhishek says, “Kerala is not new to me, I have been here many times but Kozhikode is a new and wonderful experience.
What I like here is the people’s love for football. I know that Malabar region is where the best football players and lovers of the game come from, which is really interesting for me as I am a hardcore football lover,” he states.
After an informal session with the students, he happily posed for pictures with the students and concluded the event with a selfie with them!
