Katrina Kaif to Kareena Kapoor: heroines who quit studies

While Kareena Kapoor and Katina Kaif joined films at the age of 20, Urmila Matondkar and Kajol left studies even earlier to work in Indian cinema. Here is a list of actresses who left behind books for the sake of movies.

Kareena Kapoor Khan seems to be on a cause-endorsing drive.

After supporting women’s safety through a cell phone app, the actor’s new focus area in 2014 seems to be education. "Yes, I want to do something... We should try and eradicate illiteracy from our country, and that is a cause I deeply believe in," she says.

Back in 2000, when Kareena entered Bollywood with Refugee, she was all of 20. And once she got busy with film shoots, studies took a backseat, causing her to opt out of law school midway.

"Somewhere, I feel that I started working at a very early age. Watching my sister (Karisma Kapoor), I felt this rush to be an actress. Now, the more time passes, and after I met Saif (Ali Khan, husband), I realise that education and basic grounding are important. It’s nice to know about things in life, and to read. I’ve started reading more. Earlier I wouldn’t even pick up a book. These are things that, maybe, I couldn’t do in my life, so I want to encourage people to do it," she adds.

Kareena adds that Saif strongly believes in a good education. "…like going to a good school, getting a basic education. He also believes it’s never too late to study. He is in his forties, and reads a lot; he’s got so much information. Because of him, I’ve started believing that it’s good to know about what’s happening around you, apart from films. And that has also started to interest me, so hopefully, in 2014, I would like to do something (about education as a cause)," says Kareena.

Others who gave up studies to become actors

Katrina-Kaif

Karisma Kapoor: Karisma Kapoor started acting (in 1991, with Prem Qaidi) when she was just 17.

Alia Bhatt: Mahesh Bhatt’s daughter was only 19 in 2012 when she made her debut with Student of The Year.

Katrina Kaif: After modelling for some years, Katrina made her acting debut at 20 with the 2003 dud, Boom.

Urmila matondkar: She started as a child actor, most famous for her role in Masoom (1983). Later, she made her debut in Narasimha (1991) at age 17.

Kajol: Kajol debuted at age 18 with Bekhudi in 1992.