The momentous ‘fall’
Premkumar is not a good batsman, and nor is he a bowler. He instead prides himself in being a good fielder. A real Jonty Rhodes man, if you will, he says. “Since I am very interested in athletics, I could run fast and fetch the ball. So, generally I get placed on the covers to take high catches. That is exactly what happened that day.” Premkumar, along with his friend Saras had come to Bucks’ house to give him an invitation. And it so happened that Balaji was hanging out with Bucks that day.
Hanging out at each other’s residence was a common activity in those days for the college friends. “So, we just randomly decided we’ll play a game of cricket, and went to a ground, just opposite to the one that’s shown in the film. We might talk about everything under the sun right from cinema, literature and philosophy. But when it comes to a match, things become serious,” Balaji recalls.
And the last thing Prem remembers before the fall is going for the catch. “Immediately after the fall, things started fading and I couldn’t remember anything. When you fall on your back, you take a reverse sommersault where you roll over your neck and stand up. This has happened several times to me, but this particular time led to a story.” And once he got up, the mutterings about the brain’s medulla oblongata being shocked by the fall began. Strangely enough, the fall rekindled his fondness for biology of all things!