New Delhi:

Study to pass in life, not just exams, and identify your strengths during challenging times, actors Vikrant Massey and Bhumi Pednekar told school students during an interaction on PM’s Parisha Pe Charcha aired on Sunday. The actors shared their school experiences, tackling exam stress, parental expectations and the importance of resilience at a special session of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC), an annual event in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with students appearing for board examinations.

In a shift from the traditional town hall format, this time the prime minister preferred a more informal setting and took the students to Delhi’s iconic Sunder Nursery for his annual interaction with them ahead of board exams.

Massey, who saw a career turnaround with the 2023 film “12th Fail”, asked students to practice the “power of visualisation”.

“We all know how to subconsciously visualise. You can take out 10 minutes a day to write about your feelings and what you wish to achieve in a journal… It’s a kind of manifestation,” he said.

“Never feel arrogant about getting good marks. Keep your eyes low and your thinking high. That’s very important. Study to pass in life, not just exams. Be kind to yourself and if you do not meet your expectations, restart,” he added.

Recalling the time she lost her father, Pednekar said she was very young when she realised she had to focus on her strengths.

“At that age you don’t realise that such a big unfortunate event has happened to you. I just knew I had to play by my strengths. Identify your strengths during challenging times… Explore new ways to learn… Like whenever I am given a scene, I try doing it in different ways,” the “Dum Laga Ke Haisha” actor said during the eighth edition of PPC.

During his school days, Massey said he was “an above average student” who was more into sports.

“I used to pick up books days before exams. We had cable TV at the time so that used to be disconnected during exams… I’m a bit sad to see today’s generation. Our playtime was all about the playground. For today’s generation, it’s mobile. Cricket, which is our country’s most favourite sport, requires one to be present in the moment. Even the prime minister says ‘The present is God’s favourite present’,” he added.

Pednekar too said she was never a frontbencher and used to enjoy participating in extracurricular activities.

“I was a very obedient student and I still am. I was mischievous but I shared a beautiful relationship with my teachers… I realised early on that I want to be an actor. I wanted my parents to be happy and proud so I used to work very hard in studies.” Children are unable to grow when the expectations of parents start to feel like a burden, added Massey.

“Express yourself. If your parents want you to become an engineer but you want to become a photographer, you should tell them what you feel. They will get convinced over a period of time because all they want for you is to be happy,” he told students.

Pednekar emphasised the importance of having a good sleep routine.

“I used to take an hour-long break in a day during exams. I would go out and play, I loved dancing, playing badminton. All that was important for me was to give my brain a break…

“When I was young, I just didn’t want to sleep. Now when I’m shooting, I quickly finish my lunch in 15 minutes and sleep for half an hour. That half an hour of sleep will give me a very focused eight hours at work,” she added.

Massey shared his three hacks on how to be an ‘Exam Warrior’.

“Eat well, rest well; keep improving; and go, play, unplug,” he said.

Asked to give her go-to tips to handle stress, Pednekar said: “Be a warrior, not a worrier. Being spiritual keeps you grounded and focused.” Previously, eminent personalities like boxer MC Mary Kom, spiritual leader Sadhguru, and Bollywood star Deepika Padukone also shared their experiences and knowledge with students on key aspects of life and learning in different episodes of Pariksha Pe Charcha this year.

The first edition of the prime minister’s interactive programme with school and college students was held at the Talkatora Stadium in February 2018. Its seventh edition was held in a town hall format at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, engaging participants from across the country and overseas.

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New Delhi:

Actor Deepika Padukone told students that patience is very important when it comes to exam preparation and results, though marks are not every thing. She added that it is important to sleep well, hydrate, exercise, meditate and express oneself to deal with all the stress that comes with exams.

The Padmavat actor told students during the eighth edition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Pariksha Pe Charcha that it is natural to feel stress, but important to know how to handle it. While admitting that she was weak at math, she said she was lucky to have parents who did not focus much on her getting good marks. She also stressed the need importance of friends and a community in helping deal with anxiety. “Parents have to understand that a child’s interest may lie in something else, and that is ok,” she said.

As part of an interactive session, the Ms Padukone conducted an activity where students wrote their strengths on pieces of paper and displayed them on a board. “This activity helps you realise that if you focus on your strengths rather than weaknesses, you’ll see how many things you’re good at,” she said. She added that competition is a part of life, but the ultimate endeavour should be to recognise our strengths and weaknesses and challenge ourselves.

Citing her mental health journey, the Piku actor said that she started feeling free and light when she began talking about her feelings. “When dealing with exams too, expressing helps. Focus on things that are in your control. And talked to your parents or someone you trust if you feel stressed,” she said.

While stressing on the importance of not being afraid of failure and enjoying what you like to do, Ms Padukone also shared a hack with students to stay in the present. “It is is called 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Five things you can see around you, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, one thing you can taste . They bring you back in the moment,” she said.

During the conversation with students, she shared her strong inclination towards sports and extracurricular activities. “I was a very naughty child. Even today, my parents say that you will never find Deepika at the ground level. I was always jumping from sofas, tables, and chairs. I was more interested in extracurricular activities,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the eighth edition of ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ on February 10 in Delhi, interacting with students at Sunder Nursery during the first episode.

Highlighting the significance of technology, he had encouraged students to understand and make optimal use of it. “A student’s life does not stop if they fail an exam. One must decide whether they want to succeed in life or books. You should turn your failures into your teachers. You are fortunate to be born in an era of technology, and our focus should be to understanding technology and have an optimum utilisation of it,” PM Modi said.