Kareena Kapoor regrets leaving school for acting, urges sons to prioritise education

Indian actor Kareena Kapoor Khan has admitted that she regrets not completing her education after leaving school to pursue acting as a teenager. She said the experience has shaped the way she encourages her two sons, Taimur and Jeh, to prioritise their studies before pursuing their individual passions.

Kareena recently appeared on a podcast, where she recalled leaving school after Class XI to begin her acting career. She also spoke about her sons’ interests and her work with UNICEF to promote girls’ education in India.

“I never finished my education, and that was something that kind of stayed with me. Even though I had the opportunity, I got into movies and didn’t study any further after Class XI. I know a lot of people can make fun of that or say whatever they want, but I wanted to prove myself as an actor. That was something I wanted to do, to follow my heart,” she said.

Looking back on that decision, Kareena said her own experience has made her particularly keen for her children to complete their education before pursuing their ambitions.

“Education is something I do regret not completing. That’s why I have pushed my boys to finish their education first and then follow their hearts. When UNICEF approached me about supporting young girls’ education in India, I felt deeply about it because I had always carried that regret that I hadn’t completed my own education,” she added.

Kareena also reflected on her decision to enter the film industry, explaining that although she grew up in a family with deep ties to Bollywood, becoming an actor was ultimately her own choice.

“I came from a film family and the exposure was a lot. It’s not that I was pushed to become an actor; it’s something that just flowed naturally in my DNA and something I wanted to do. If you’re a good artist and know your profession, that will always be around,” she said.

Her approach to her sons’ futures, however, is not limited to following the family profession. Kareena said her elder son Taimur is currently passionate about cricket and football and dreams of competing on the global stage.

“When Tim says he wants to be a footballer or a cricketer right now because he is so into sports, I say, ‘Yes, why not?’ He says he wants to play on a global stage, so I was like, ‘Okay, then make it happen,’” she said. “We have to encourage him regardless of whether he changes his mind later. It is not that because we come from a film family, he has to be an actor.”

Kareena also highlighted the broader lessons children can learn through sport, including teamwork and compassion, and linked those values to charitable work. “Sports and charities can always go hand in hand together. We learn compassion because you have to be a team player,” she said.

The actor further stressed that success in any profession requires commitment and a willingness to accept failure, noting that the demands of working life extend well beyond the film industry.

“I feel there is hard work in any profession and any job, whether corporate or banking. The hours are crazy, even if you are on your laptop. You have to put in that hard work. It is just that in our profession, you get to hear about it more on social media,” she said. “The hard work is the passion to prove yourself,” she concluded.

Kareena made her Bollywood debut opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Refugee, which was released in June 2000. She went on to become one of Hindi cinema’s most prominent actors.

On the personal front, Kareena married actor Saif Ali Khan on October 16, 2012. The couple have two sons, Taimur Ali Khan, born in December 2016, and Jeh Ali Khan, born in February 2021.

As Kareena continues to balance her career, motherhood and advocacy work, her own experience of leaving formal education early remains a key influence on how she approaches her children’s futures — encouraging them to complete their studies while giving them the freedom to pursue their passions.