Delhi NCR

Meeting people at Kirori Mal College

Kirori Mal College is the North Campus college famous for theatre: its dramatics society, The Players, shaped Amitabh Bachchan, Satish Kaushik and Shakti Kapoor. If you want to find your people at KMC, society auditions and the Renaissance fest are the fastest way in.

The story of Kirori Mal College

KMC began as Nirmala College before the Seth Kirori Mal trust took over and the college moved to its present North Campus site on 1 February 1954. India's first President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, laid the foundation stones for the permanent campus in 1955, and the buildings were designed by architects Anand Apte and C.S.H. Jhabvala.

The college's identity was shaped in its first decades by Professor Frank Thakur Das, a political science teacher who drove its drama and debating culture. He persuaded a reluctant science student named Amitabh Bachchan, at KMC from 1959 to 1962, to take part in plays, and mentored a generation of actors who went on to Hindi cinema.

Bachchan later donated Rs 51 lakh to rebuild the college auditorium in memory of his drama teacher. Today KMC is one of North Campus's best known co-ed colleges, with strong arts, commerce and science departments, and it was ranked fourth among Indian colleges in NIRF 2025.

What the campus is like socially

KMC has a creative, slightly bohemian reputation, and the theatre kids earn it. Rehearsals spill onto lawns, music society jams go late, and the college has an easy, open feel compared with some of its more formal neighbours. At the same time, consulting hopefuls and civil services aspirants form their own tight circles.

The back gate opens toward Kamla Nagar, which works as an extended campus for food and hangouts, and Hindu, Hansraj, Miranda House and St. Stephen's are all within walking distance. Most first-year friendships come out of society auditions rather than one central freshers' event.

Traditions every KMCite knows

• Renaissance: KMC's annual cultural fest, a multi-day spring event with dance, fashion and music competitions that draws thousands from across DU.
• Society auditions: Theatre, music and debating auditions in the first weeks of the year decide who you spend the next three years with.
• Theatre season: The Players' productions and street plays are a fixture of the North Campus theatre calendar.

Campus lore and insider spots

• Bachchan's college years: Amitabh Bachchan studied science at KMC from 1959 to 1962 and has credited Frank Thakur Das with getting him on stage.
• The Sachin-Jigar no-show: At Renaissance 2017 the headliners withdrew after asking for flights for 16 crew, and Delhi band Rangreza saved the night. Seniors still tell it as the ultimate fest budgeting lesson.
• A President's foundation stone: Dr. Rajendra Prasad laid the foundation stones for the campus in 1955, a founding cameo few colleges can match.
• Kamla Nagar runs: The back gate leads to Kamla Nagar market, the unofficial KMC canteen for generations.

How to find your people here

Join a society or the fest committee at Kirori Mal College in your first few weeks. DU friendships tend to form around a shared activity, not the classroom, and the North or South Campus ecosystem makes it easy to meet people from other colleges too.

Fests and societies at Kirori Mal College

Signature fests

• Renaissance

Notable societies

• The Players (Theatre Society)
• DEBSOC (Debating and Quiz Society)
• FOSTAS (Foreign Students' Society)

Societies worth knowing at Kirori Mal College

• The Players: The dramatics society behind KMC's theatre legend, with alumni including Amitabh Bachchan, Satish Kaushik, Shakti Kapoor and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Auditions are famously competitive.
• DEBSOC: The debating and quizzing society, a regular on the DU circuit.
• FOSTAS: The Foreign Students' Society, which helps international students settle into DU life.

Careers, internships and placements

KMC's placement cell draws consulting, banking, finance and analytics recruiters, with commerce and economics students most in demand. Many arts and science graduates head to postgraduate study, research or competitive exams.

The college has a strong civil services culture, and its creative societies remain an unofficial route into film, music and media, as alumni like Kabir Khan and KK show.

Notable alumni

• Amitabh Bachchan: Studied at KMC from 1959 to 1962 and acted with the college dramatics society before his film career.
• Satish Kaushik: Actor and director, one of the theatre alumni mentored by Frank Thakur Das.
• KK: Playback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, a KMC graduate.
• Kabir Khan: Film director of Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Ek Tha Tiger.
• Naveen Patnaik: Former Chief Minister of Odisha.
• Girija Prasad Koirala: Former Prime Minister of Nepal.

Rivalries and eternal debates

KMC, Hindu and Hansraj form North Campus's unofficial trio, and every admission season brings the same question: which one? Ramjas often joins the comparison, while SRCC hovers over all of them for commerce. The rivalry is mostly good-natured and plays out at inter-college theatre and debate competitions, where The Players and DEBSOC regularly meet Hindu and Hansraj teams.

What Kirori Mal College is talking about now

Confession pages and official reels carry campus life online, and Renaissance remains the biggest annual spike in KMC content. Students increasingly sort themselves into consulting, civil services and creative tracks early on.

Meeting people at Kirori Mal College by interest

A lot of friendships here form around a shared interest rather than a class or a hostel wing. If you are into theatre and dramatics, debating and mun, poetry and open mics, reading and book clubs, and running, those pages cover where that scene actually happens in India and how to find people near you who are into the same thing.

Colleges nearby

Kirori Mal College sits close to Hindu College, Hansraj College, and St. Stephen's College, all part of the same Delhi NCR student scene. Cross-college friendships often start at inter-college fests, hackathons, or shared-interest communities rather than in class.

Similar campuses across India

If you are looking beyond your own campus, students at Lady Irwin College, Lady Shri Ram College, Maitreyi College, and Miranda House share a similar campus culture, and Zyber works the same way at each: showing you verified people nearby who match on interest, intent, or timing.

Zyber on campus

Zyber is live at Kirori Mal College, matching you in real time with people nearby who share your interests or your drive, with verified profiles only.

New to Kirori Mal College? Start here

If you are just starting out, these freshers guides are written for exactly this moment: first week of college checklist, how to choose societies in college, making friends beyond your branch, and internship in first year.

See meeting people in Delhi NCR, events in Delhi NCR, the freshers guide, the Meet People pillar, or read what Zyber is.