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हिन्दी 
It was a moment of pure bliss, nostalgia and pride for Vedang Raina as the actor returned to his alma mater, Jamnabai Narsee School in Mumbai on December 17. He was invited as the chief guest at the annual sports meet for differently-abled children, and shooting exclusively for HT City, he feels it has been a full circle moment in his life: “The last memory I have of this special sports day is when I was escorting the chief guest inside, and that chief guest happened to be Alia Bhatt.”
He adds, “This time to come as a chief guest myself, that too after doing a film with Alia feels surreal. To see all the council members and the student council do what I was doing, not so long ago, was really amazing.” The actor reveals that while he didn’t have an interaction with Alia at the time of the sports meet, he did remind her about it when they collaborated on Jigra. “When I told her the story, that’s when I found out that she was also in the same house that I was. That was a cool thing to bond over,” he shares.
Seeing Vedang Raina amid themselves, the school students went into a frenzy. Ask the actor if he also felt the same excitement when celebs came during his school days and he says, “I don’t know what it is with me, but I’ve always had the habit to be very internal about all this. I wouldn’t show my excitement, but I would definitely feel it.” He adds though, that the way those guests served as an inspiration for him, he hopes to be the same beacon for the current students: “I hope I am able inspire everyone to not just getting into acting, but to dream to make it that one day, they are also called as a chief guest after excelling in their profession.”
As he visited the campus again, he was triggered with his school memories, especially inside his classroom. Remembering one such incident that left him crying, Vedang shares, “Maths used to be my strongest subject, but I think I got a bit overconfident in it. During the boards exam, while I was sitting happy and confident after finishing the paper, and only two minutes were left, I realised I hadn’t done the last question, which was a 10 marker. The panic I felt then, I can never forget because I actually cried after the paper. Somehow, I still got a 91 in it. I was a scholar student and more than my awards, my 97 percent marks in boards is the biggest flex I have.”
But was he a teacher’s favourite or a naughty kid at school? “I was like a weird mix of both because I used to be decent in my studies, but I would also be missing classes a lot. I was in the school band, so for the excuse of band practices, I used to miss classes. Some teachers used to be very upset with me for that. But I was also in the student council so certain teachers would love me,” he responds, adding that meeting his old teachers again felt nostalgic for him.
