Kalki Koechlin, the 'class clown'

Actress muses on school days as she insists that education is the key to gender equality.

She has never shied away from picking roles that are bold - whether it’s Dev.D or Margarita, with a Straw - yet Kalki Koechlin says she was a shy person back in school.

“I was a shy person in school until I reached the age of 13 and I realised that I had a sense of humour... so I was the class clown. I kind of hid my shyness behind my humour,” said Kalki.

She spoke on the sidelines of an interactive session she had last Thursday with students of consumer products company Procter & Gamble (P&G) Shiksha Schools in Mumbai.

Talking of the importance of education, the critically acclaimed actress said: “Education is the most important thing for our country to grow. I have had the privilege to get a good education. I went to an international school in Ooty. It was a place where people of different religions came together. We used to have a lot of sports, extra-curricular activities, creative arts and stuff.”

The actress, of half French and half Indian descent, believes that education is not just important in the academic sense, but also in terms of social education.

“I was never a front bencher. I was very bad at maths. My skills were more on the creative side like arts, creative writing and acting. It’s important we try different skills apart from regular studies,” said Kalki.

A strong supporter of women empowerment and education, especially in rural India, Kalki said: “We have to educate girls, but we also have to educate boys about the fact that girls are equal. It’s important for both boys and girls.” Launched in 2004, P&G India’s flagship CSR programme P&G Shiksha has grown immensely with the help of strong support from the Bollywood fraternity including Rani Mukerji, John Abraham, Sushmita Sen, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan.