As Akshaye Khanna continues to earn widespread praise for his menacing turn as mafia ganglord Rehman Dakait in Dhurandhar, an old, heartfelt memory from his school days has resurfaced online — and fans are loving it.
West Bengal politician Saira Shah Halim recently shared a nostalgic post on X (formerly Twitter), recalling Akshaye Khanna’s time at Lawrence School Lovedale, Ooty, where he studied as a boarder in Class 11 and 12. The post, accompanied by a rare throwback photograph of the actor, quickly caught attention for its warm, intimate portrayal of the actor long before stardom.
Calling him the school’s “original Heartbreak Kid”, Halim wrote about the excitement on campus when news broke that Vinod Khanna’s son would be joining their school. “There was a lot of buzz… we were intrigued about who or what he looked like,” she recalled.
What followed, she said, was two years of quiet fascination.
According to Halim, Akshaye Khanna was never the loud or flamboyant senior. “He wasn’t the boisterous captain of the football team,” she wrote. “He was the quiet storm.” Reserved, introspective and often seen sipping tea on the lawns or taking solitary walks across the campus, Akshaye became a crush for many — without ever trying to be one.
“He caused no drama, except in the hearts of his schoolmates,” she noted, adding that despite never being part of big groups or school socials, he was among the most popular seniors on campus.
Halim also recalled seeing Vinod Khanna and Akshaye’s stepmother visiting him at school — moments that stayed with her over the years.
Reflecting on his later journey into films, she wrote that while some of his movies worked and some didn’t, one thing never changed: Akshaye’s low-key, mysterious persona. “Just the way he is now,” she added, saying she was glad to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves.
The timing of the post struck a chord, coming as Akshaye Khanna receives strong acclaim for Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar. The spy thriller stars Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, R. Madhavan and Sara Arjun, with Akshaye’s intense introduction and restrained performance emerging as one of the film’s biggest talking points.
From a quiet, brooding schoolboy in Ooty to one of Hindi cinema’s most compelling performers, the viral post has offered fans a rare glimpse into the early years of an actor who has always preferred mystery over noise.
