Bollywood Stars with a Strong Educational Background!

We live with this stereotypical mindset that doesn’t allow us to think rationally at times. Same is the case with a few off-beat or creative career options. Politicians, writers, artists and people associated with Bollywood are often looked down upon when we weigh them on the education scale. Just to blow away the cobwebs on this clichéd perspective, we bring to you the Bollywood celebrities who have a strong education base, in addition, the glamorous aura to boast about. Find out more here!

12 Highly Educated Bollywood Celebrities!

R. Madhavan

Recently praised by critics for his outstanding performance as an obnoxious, cynical boxer-turned-coach in Saala Khadoos, Madhavan, with his sweet smile, have fetched him many female fans. His bunch of other magnificent performances in Bollywood include Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Rang De Basanti and 3 Idiots. Coming to his educational qualifications, Madhavan is a graduate in Electronics from Rajaram College, Kolhapur. He won the Maharashtra Best Cadet title and also received training with the Royal Army, the Navy and the Air Force, and had plans of joining defence which got sidelined due to his passion for acting.

Soha Ali Khan

Best known for her role as Sonia in Rang De Basanti, Soha Ali Khan’s education background has much more lustre than her on-screen presence. Soha, after attending The British School, Delhi, studied modern history at the Balliol College of Oxford. She then did her post graduation in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. WOW! Impressive isn’t it?

Preity Zinta

Co-owner of Indian Premier League (IPL)'s franchise cricket team, Kings XI Punjab, Preity Zinta has had a strong fan base after a number of great Bollywood hits like Dil Chahta Hai, Koi Mil Gaya, Kal Ho Na Ho, Veer Zaara and much more to her kitty. Preity took a break from her shining career to pursue a short-term business course from Harvard. It was indeed a very impressive and daring act that earned her a lot of respect in the media. Prior to that, Preity had a double graduation degree in English Honours from St. Bede's College and another one in Psychology. She also has a postgraduate degree in Criminal Psychology added to her kitty. This bubbly actress sure is one inspiration to all!

John Abraham

John is known for his love for bikes, the perfect body, the good looks but little do people know that he in an MBA graduate. He studied at Bombay Scottish School in Mumbai, after which he earned a Bachelor's degree in economics from Jai Hind College. John also received an MMS from Mumbai Educational Trust, Mumbai (MET).

Fardeen Khan

We don’t know if Fardeen qualifies as a Bollywood star but his management degree from the University of Massachusetts, USA sure did get him into this list. At least now, we know where did he get that accent from!

Randeep Hooda

After his remarkable performance in the movie Sarbjit, Randeep Hooda is gaining a lot of appreciation for his work. Talking about his educational qualifications, he completed his schooling from Delhi Public School. He then moved to Melbourne and received a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and a Master's degree in Business Management and Human Resource Management. Since he has given up on his career in management maybe he should utilise his skills and market himself better in Bollywood.

Siddharth

Remember the cute boy from Rang De Basanti? I am sure you do, he might not have given too many Hindi hits but he sure is a big deal down south. Also, he has left a mark by the one or two movies he has done for Bollywood. More than anything, he sure has a heavy CV which is difficult to digest. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) degree from Kirori Mal College, New Delhi. Siddharth was part of the reputed theatre group of the college, The Players. He was also president of the college's debating society and attended the World Debating Championships. He went on to complete his MBA from S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai. He was exceptionally bright in his speaking skills, which ultimately led him to win CNBC Manager of the year award in 1999.

Amisha Patel

She entered into Bollywood through Kaho Na Pyaar Hai with a bang, but her acting career didn’t take off the way it should have. Nowadays, she often makes it to page 3 for reasons other than her acting career. Hard to believe but she is one of the few Bollywood actors to have a good education background. She was the head girl of her school, Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. Following which, she went to Medford, Massachusetts to study Economics at Tufts University. We do feel sorry for her, though, as Bollywood is definitely not her cup-a-tea!

Richa Chadda

Richa Chadda has raised eyebrows with her bold roles in Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2. She bagged the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for the same. In addition to the commendable acting skills and strong personality, she has a few prestigious degrees to flaunt around. She graduated from St. Stephens with a degree in History and a PG Diploma in Social Communication Media from Sophia College, Mumbai. She would have surely done well in the corporate world but one thing is for sure that Bollywood would have missed a great actor had she not switched to movies.

Parineeti Chopra

Once known to be her "Chubby Punjabi Kudi" looks, Pareeniti, recently came into the limelight for her tremendous weight loss. Her bubbly appearances in Ishqzaade, Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl and Hasee Toh Phasee ended up winning many hearts, but this isn’t exactly what she had planned for her life. Parineeti wanted to be an investment banker. She owns a triple honours degree in Business, Finance and Economics from Manchester Business School. Life had other plans for her and she ended up signing a three-movie deal with the Yashraj banner which changed her life for good.

Sushant Rajpoot

With the latest blockbuster hit MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sushant Singh Rajput garnered a lot of praise and momentum. His career would have been at another height had he not given up the scholarship that he got from JEE Main. He secured the 7^th rank in the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) 2003 after which he enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering course but later dropped out of college to follow his dream of joining the glamour industry. We just hope his acting career does good for him or he will have a lot to repent about.

Varun Dhawan

Varun Dhawan, who is now being termed as the Govinda of today, always had Bollywood calling out to him. Varun, the son of David Dhawan is one of the few born with a silver spoon, his family background, his dancing and his good looks were always the reasons, people thought he would be in the movies. His debut in Student of the Year  followed by his successful comedy acts in Main Tera Hero and Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya have put him on the list of most promising newcomers. Before entering into the paparazzi world, he made sure that he has degrees in place and hence, he has a Business Management degree from Nottingham Trent University, the United Kingdom added to credentials.

These actors have something worthwhile to fall back upon. We just hope that the switch that they made is really worth it! Who else have we missed out? Mention their names in the comment box below!