Bollywood star shines at UEL
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Published
06 June 2024
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In a captivating event, the University of East London (UEL) witnessed an extraordinary scene of cheering students, all eager to catch a glimpse of Bollywood sensation Kartik Aaryan.
With an impressive following of 39 million on Instagram, Kartik’s appearance drew a crowd reminiscent of a movie premiere, rather than a typical university lecture on the Docklands campus.
Primarily known for his comedic talents, the Hindi-language star was at UEL to promote his new film Chandu Champion, in which he plays real-life paralympic sportsman Murlikant Petkar, winner of India’s first ever medal at the Paralympics.
And judging by the frequent cheers from those who watched the trailer in the theatre, it’s set to be his next hit. But with Kartik himself being an engineering graduate, there were also questions during a Q&A session about his time as a student and his journey after graduation.
Darshan Dabhi, a former President of UEL’s Indian Society, was one of the hundreds of people inside the theatre. He said,
It was a really impressive atmosphere inside; he talked about the obstacles he faced throughout his journey, how he lost count of how many auditions he got rejected in, and how that didn’t stop him becoming who he is today. He was lovely, he answered all the questions from the students, despite their being lots of them from the audience.”
The event was organised by the East London Students’ Union with UEL’s Indian Society and the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU). Kunal Dinesh Keswani, Events Officer for the Indian Society, was another attendee impressed by Kartik’s visit. He said, “We were honoured to hear him speak and to give our group members the opportunity to have their own questions answered. A brilliant time was had by all attendees – thank you to NISAU and East London Students’ Union for their support.”
Kartik’s visit highlights UEL’s growing appeal to Indian students, which grew to more than 6,000 in 2022.Events like the Bollywood star’s visit have an important part to play in making students from India feel at home, with the University and the Students’ Union keen to provide a warm welcome to overseas students.
In the recent International Student Barometer survey (the globally recognised benchmark for international student experience), 94 per cent of international students felt that they belonged at UEL and 92 per cent said they were satisfied with the support they received from the University.
Darshan Dabhi, who now works for the University, noted that when he founded the Indian Society, backing from East London Students’ Union and the University was important. He said, “I always got the support I needed; I always went to them with an event plan, what we needed from the Students’ Union with the budget and I never had any problems, they’ve always been very supportive.”
That support has helped facilitate a series of events, with celebrations of Holi, Diwali and Eid all taking place annually on campus, while the Indian Society and the University have also collaborated on careers evenings and job fairs too.