Teachers play an important role in moulding the personality of children. On the special occasion of Teacher's Day, film and TV artistes like R. Madhavan, Malaika Arora, Amna Sharif and Victor Banerjee remembered their favourite teachers and thanked them for inculcating the right values and shaping up their personality.

Kangana Ranaut: My favourite teacher was Mrs. Sachdev, the principal of DAV Girl's school. She has got the best teacher's award twice from the president. We are still in touch. Compassion flows out of her when she speaks.

I still remember how she'd pull my cheeks in the school corridor and say, 'Why don't you take up modelling, Beta? Today's girls hold the world in the palm of their hands. Whatever you'll do in life I'll support you'. So here I am, Mrs. Sachdev. Hope you're proud of me.

R. Madhavan: My favourite teacher was Jayanthi Jayakar. She was one of our gang. She made learning Shakespeare a complete pleasure by letting us play the characters we wanted to. We enacted scenes from Shakespeare rather than just read them in class.

Malaika Arora: I attended the Swami Vivekanand school in Chembur. My favourite was my French teacher Mrs. Uma. She was so lovely and articulate. If I've imbibed any of her qualities, I am happy.

Alka Yagnik: I went to the Modern High School in Kolkata. I was a favourite with most of the teachers because I was a good student. And the teachers loved to hear me sing. My favourite teacher was the principal Mrs. Wilson deRoze.

She always asked me to keep my hair away from my face. But I hated doing that and kept my hair open. She'd call me back to her office and make me tie my hair tightly with ribbons and then send me back.

Rohit Roy: I went to St. Xaviers Loyal Hall, which is a Spanish missionary high school. My favourite teacher was, and remains, Father Morondo, one of the original teachers from Spain. He taught us biology and was one of the most chilled-out guys.

His exam questions were never the usual terse and boring stuff. He always made the examinations participative and took us into confidence about the questions. A sample of his live exam session: 'Rohit, stop looking at Janeesha and tell me what photosynthesis means.'

We used to wait for his exams because we all wanted to know if we featured in the question papers. I'm still in touch with Father Morondo and visit him when I can.

Amrita Arora: My favourite was my French teacher Mrs. Uma Krishnan. I remember she was so beautiful, like Sridevi. We all wanted to look like her. All of us kids took French to just stare at her and hoped one day we could be like her.

Victor Bannerjee: I owe everything I am to an Irish Christian priest named Rev Bro Michael D. Curran who taught me to sing, act, love, respect and care for my fellow beings. I keep his photo in a silver frame in my living room. He's nearly 90 today. Two years ago, I made a special pilgrimage to Ireland, just to see him and touch the dust of his feet. He's a hugely talented musician and drama teacher besides being a very saintly man. May god protect him!

Tusshar Kapoor: Miss Azariah at my school Bombay Scottish was my favourite teacher because she was like a friend. When I used to be unprepared and cried before an exam, she used to fire me on, spur me to cope. I can't forget her. I'm still in touch with her.

Rahul Bose: Frankly my teachers were of no help in making me the person that I am. So let's not get nostalgic about them.

Iqbal Khan: I was in Lawrence School, Sanawar. My favourite teacher was Mr. Solomon who always put the kids before himself. I realised how selflessly giving he was only after I passed out of school. I'm still in touch with him.

Aseem Merchant: My favourite teacher was my fourth grade English teacher Miss Evon Michael. I had a massive crush on her. Every time she'd ruffle my hair when I gave the right answer. Too bad we were so incompatible age-wise.

Vipul Shah: I liked all my teachers in school. But they hated me because I was the naughtiest kid in Nanavati High School. I loved our principal Mrs. Indu Patel. She was the only teacher who never reprimanded me for my pranks.

The worst thing that I did was to make my teacher Mrs. Darhmishtha cry. She had remarked on my 'sanskar' and I demanded an apology. When she refused, I threatened to scream every time she spoke in class. Poor lady. I made her cry.

Manoj Bajpai: My favourite teacher was Brother Tom in my school in Bettiah, Bihar. It was he who suggested that I take to acting as my profession after he saw me act in a parents' day play.

Divya Dutta: My favourite teacher was Mrs. Kusum Sharma at Sacred Heart Convent in Ludhiana. She was so beautiful and elected me the house captain. For some strange reason she'd always laugh at everything I said.

Once she rolled off her chair at a comic play that I performed, I loved to see her laugh. After years I went back to school to chat with her. And there she was with the same smile. She opened her purse and gave me a chocolate just like before. I was overwhelmed.

Ekta Kapoor: My favourite teacher was Mrs. Bose at Bombay Scottish. Why? I don't know. I liked everything about her.

Amna Sharif: My favourite teacher in my school St. Anne's High School was Prem Lata m'aam. She always managed to get the best out of me. And I am what I am because of her. She was the one who showed me where to draw the line and the hemline.

Dino Morea: My favourite teachers? Mrs. Rita Reddy and Ms. Taylor at Clarence High in Bangalore because they were showstoppers.

Nandana Sen: Mrs McGinity at Highgate Primary in London. She discovered coherent shapes in all my unruly experiments with colour and depth in all my juvenile scribbling. She gave me great, if unfounded, confidence in myself.

Aryan Vaid: My favourite was my music teacher Miss Ann at Rose Manor Garden School. She had the most amazing voice and she played the piano beautifully. She transported me to another world.