Rahul Bose: The Good Samaritan

New Delhi, Sep 2: When a tsunami wreaked havoc in southern India in 2006, Bollywood actor Rahul Bose was one of the first to provide relief measures to the people hit by the seismic giant waves. That was then.

Two years hence, when Bihar is reeling under the ravage of the turbulent Kosi, the not-so-quintessential actor is once again ready to lend a helping hand to ameliorate the miseries of the flood victims. Among tinseltown actors, who rushed to the tsunami-affected areas to provide aid, rescue and relief operations, was Rahul Bose, who along with colleagues John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi, did his bit to alleviate the miseries of those hit by the tragedy.

However, as another natural disaster strikes Bihar with flood water swamping huge areas of the state, leaving several people dead and lakhs marooned, the presence of Bollywood in the hour of need is not so evident.

''It is not necessary that whenever there is a tragedy in any part of the country, people from the film industry would rush to the affected site.

In fact, why blame people from the film industry. It is only a minuscule percentage of people from any profession that usually comes forward to help in case of any calamity,'' Rahul said.

Asked for his take on the reason for the minimal presence of Bollywood stars at the scene of the tragedy in Bihar, Rahul, in a lighter vein, said, ''I feel there are many disasters in India that are sexy, others that are not so sexy. It could be that the cyclone in Bihar may not be that attractive.'' Rahul said he had done his bit to contribute to the relief efforts to alleviate the miseries of those hit by the Bihar floods.

''In the last few days, I have written a cheque to help those affected by the flood and I will send the money soon,'' said the actor, who defies the typical image of a Bollywood, here during a visit to the Capital this weekend.

When the dreaded waves hit the coastal areas of the South, Rahul, like several of his counterparts from the film industry, reached out to the people to provide succourt in Andaman, the place worst hit by the tragedy.

In fact, the actor was one of the first, who reacted to the news and took the initiative of reaching out for extending help.

As part of his efforts to provide a healing touch to the tsunami-hit people, Rahul had spent at least five days a week in the deserted region, besides making attempts to mobilise aid for those hit by the tragedy.

His efforts had also inspired several NGOs and corporate houses to come forward to contribute generously to the aid effort.

UNI