Letter to the Editor--Article

'We don't need no education' is most definitely not the message I'm trying to send out to the budding youth of today. On the contrary, it's something I think most necessary for every individual, especially with the cut-throat competition swirling around this new generation. And, if your writer Shweta Teotia had paid closer attention to our serials, or should I say the Virani Wall, she would have noticed that every heroine of ours is independent, driven towards her goals and focused on creating a better social environment - if you find a better use for education do let me know.

I'm not here to mock the country's educational system nor am I here to extol it, but I do believe that if an individual wants to work and study at the same time, there's nothing wrong or threatening about it. You would possibly commend a small town girl struggling to make ends meet and studying at nights but disregard one from a big city who's doing her first year of college and acting too because it's what she always wanted to do?

So, is the point working for a necessity more valid than working for one's dreams? My prerogative is essentially to give each person the right to make his or her own personal choices without judgment - if that includes giving new talent a chance, so be it!

Prachi Desai always dreamt of becoming an actress. She was studying in college when she auditioned for the lead of Kasamh Se. Her enthusiasm, zest for life and of course her incredible talent got her the role - and with it the fame and adulation that naturally followed. Though she moved bag and baggage to Mumbai with her mother, she made it a point to give each of her examinations in Pune and completed her HSC with flying colours, which I doubt would have been possible if she'd been solely 'scribbling autographs' rather than writing her papers. As far as leave was concerned, she got it not just for her actual examination dates but prior to that we accommodated her shooting schedules according to her studying patterns. Prachi, today, supports her entire family and is planning to buy her own house in Mumbai in a few years. And if supporting your family before the age of 20 isn't an incredible feat, what is?

Currently, Panchhi Bora, the lead of Kayamath, has been given time off from her busy shooting schedule to prepare for her examinations this month. Jai Bhanushali, Naman Shaw and Mouni Roy are other such actors who started their careers at an early age and balanced their education alongside, making each of them financially independent today. I wonder how they managed to achieve the above without being replaced (read: sacrosanct rule of no leave, only work!)

So, if promoting talent, encouraging young dreams and financially securing homes makes me a threat, I have nothing further to say. I rest my case.
—Ekta Kapoor