Happy Teacher's Day: Main Hoon Na's Sushmita to TZP's Aamir, 5 filmy t

Teachers play a pivotal role in our life. Our first teachers are our parents, then we encounter those who we know as 'professional' teachers in school, then college, then the workspace. Our break-ups, fights, flings, relationships, in fact, our lives itself act as teachers. All of these teachers influence us in one way or another.

TEACHER'S DAY SPECIAL: Cobbler imparts free education to Mahadalit children in Bihar

ALSO READ: Google honours India's teachers with a cute doodle

ALSO READ: Placebo is a film every Indian student, parent, and teacher MUST watch. Here's why

And since reel reflects real, Bollywood, has, time and again, portrayed teachers on the big screen. Some of them were harsh, some kind, some lovable while some were despicable, but, for sure, all of them were memorable.

Here's looking at Bollywood's top five filmy teachers who left an indelible mark on the big screen...

Naseeruddin Shah as Amar Verma
Film: Sir (1993)
Dir: Mahesh Bhatt

Naseeruddin Shah plays the perfect 'sir' in Sir. He is a reasonable, understanding man, committed to teaching his students high ideals. He listens to them patiently, takes care of them, and even jeopardises his life to help protect them. An underrated performance by Naseer sir in an underrated film by Bhatt saab.

Shah Rukh Khan as Raj Aryan Malhotra
Film: Mohabbatein (2000)
Dir: Aditya Chopra

Shah Rukh as Raj teaches a very important thing in this film: To question and rebel against authority. While in the context of the film, any parent would scream seeing a teacher like Raj, who essentially asks his students to screw everything and fall in love, in hindsight, we need teachers like Raj today... teachers who encourage debate and rebellion against crude authoritarian views.

Simi Garewal as Mary
Film: Mera Naam Joker (1970)
Dir: Raj Kapoor

Mary is every student's school crush. That one English teacher in chiffon saree you still have fantasies about. That one teacher whose smile brightened up the room. That one teacher who, when she scolded you, would appear all the more beautiful. The ever-radiant Simi Garewal is affable and charming as Mary, one of her finest, most memorable performances.

Sushmita Sen as Chandni
Film: Main Hoon Na (2004)
Dir: Farah Khan

Continuing in the traditional of Mary from Mera Naam Joker, Chandni is the quintessential 'hot teacher'. Shah Rukh Khan as an undercover military major in his mid-30s has trouble pretending to be Chandni's student and, well, of course, it's Sushmita Sen! Though never for a second we see Chandni, the Chemistry teacher, teach some actual chemistry, the chemistry between SRK and Sushmita in this film is one for the ages.

Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh
Film: Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Dir: Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan stars in TZP as the rare, empathetic Indian teacher who attends to every student's need personally. He does not treat Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) - a kid suffering from dyslexia - as an outlier, but he embraces him with all his inadequacies and inspires him to follow his passion, art. Truly, Aamir as Ram was one of the best Bollywood teachers ever.