West Bengal politician Saira Shah Halim has shared a rare and personal recollection of actor Akshaye Khanna’s school years, describing him as a reserved and introspective presence who quietly became one of the most admired seniors on campus.
In an Instagram post titled “Lawrence School Lovedale Ooty’s original heartbreak kid”, Halim revisited her time at the Lawrence School Lovedale in Ooty, where Akshaye Khanna was a couple of years senior to her. Halim was a boarder at the school along with her brother, Major Mohommed Ali Shah.
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“Perhaps I haven’t shared this before, but Akshaye Khanna was a couple of years senior to us at Lawrence School Lovedale,” she wrote. She recalled the excitement among students when news spread that Vinod Khanna’s son would be joining Class 11, “the buzz was that Vinod Khanna's son is joining in class 11th and we were intrigued about who or what he looked like.”
Over the next two years, Halim said, Akshaye became a familiar figure across the campus. “We saw him every day, while passing us by,or by walking up and down the campus, one bumped into him as one came out of the tuck shop etc etc and boy he was the school crush! period.”
‘A quiet storm who caused drama only in hearts’
Halim described Akshaye as markedly different from the stereotypical popular senior. “ Akshaye wasn't the boisterous captain of the football team; he was the quiet storm. He was reticent and a brooder and the only drama he caused was in the hearts of his school mates,” she wrote.
She added that he largely kept to himself. “He never attended school socials, was never a part of big groups, he just needed to quietly exist while sipping tea in the lawns or taking a solitary walk in the school campus.”
Despite his reclusive nature, Halim noted that Akshaye’s popularity remained unmatched. “Despite never being a ‘ladies’ man’ in the traditional sense, he was the most popular senior on campus.”
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She also recalled visits from his father, actor Vinod Khanna, and his stepmother during those years. Reflecting on Akshaye’s later career, Halim wrote that his trajectory felt inevitable. “Much later I wasn't surprised he went on and joined films, some films clicked, some didn't in all of this one thing remained static-he was low key and mysterious throughout, just the way he is now. Glad he is getting his due recognition.”
The post was accompanied by an old photograph of Akshaye Khanna, who is currently earning praise for his portrayal of mafia leader Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar. The Aditya Dhar-directed spy thriller also stars Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan and Sara Arjun.
