Real Sport Rahul

“I have simply followed my heart… whether it was to begin my career with advertising,to do theatre,switch to movies,play rugby or take up a social cause,I have loved everything I have done,” said the actor associated with newage cinema,whose forthcoming films include I Am,co-starring Manisha Koirala and Vipul Shah’s Kuchh Love Jaisa.

He had the management students listening to him in rapt attention as he gave an account of his life and career.

“I had a splendid childhood as a middle-class Mumbaikar,associating friends with the food one got to eat at their homes on Eid,Christmas,Navroz or Diwali,rather than religion. My parents were compulsive travellers,so we went across the length and breadth of the country,but the most frequently visited spots were Kolhapur during Ganpati,Kolkata during Puja and Kasauli in the summer holidays and I was a Marathi,Bengali or Punjabi at different times in different places,” said the actor,who has been to Lucknow twice earlier.

“As an adman,I was commissioned to visit all the properties of Hotel Taj across the sub-continent. In 1994,I visited Taj Residency and took an instant liking for the city which had been home to both my parents before they were married. I soaked in as much as I could of the flavours,the monuments,chikankari,Kathak and whatever could be packed into a two-day visit,” he said,peppering his speech with gestures and expressions that evoked mirth among the eager listeners as also some pearls of wisdom.

In Manfest 2011,from January 21 to 23,a number of artistes,corporate honchos and experts,including danseuse Mallika Sarabhai,santoor player Rahul Sharma,adman Prahlad Kakkar and entrepreneur Kiran Majumdar are expected to participate. The theme this year is ‘Renaissance 2030: Shape the Change’. Besides the regular rounds of quiz contests,guest lectures and brainstorming sessions,there would be concerts including the performance of Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation.