It was a holiday on account of Ambedkar birth anniversary Wednesday, but students of the Gyan Bharti School here were eager to attend school. Their reason - "Not every day Shahid Kapoor comes to school".

The young Bollywood heartthrob came visiting the Gyan Bharti, the school he attended when he was living in the capital. Students of all ages were eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of their favourite actor.

"Today is my holiday but I wanted to see Shahid Bhaiya. He is my favourite actor and it's not every day that Shahid comes to our school, " a thrilled 11-year-old Anush Verma said.

Geetika Chauhan, 10, told: "I would have slept till late but I was told that Shahid was coming. I love him so much."

It was a plain hysteria when the casually-dressed 29-year-old actor, wearing blue jeans and white T-shirt with a black jacket entered the school premises, looking very much like a school boy himself.

He went around the school to relive old memories and then entered the area where the students and teachers were waiting for him.

Thunderous applause and shouting greeted him to the school where he studied till Class 4.

"I'm proud to be a part of this school. My journey started here and the response I've got is simply overwhelming. I feel so nostalgic and it's a very special feeling to be back here, " Shahid said.

"I still remember the time when I used to come to this school holding my grandfather's hand, asking the guard to let me enter because I was usually five minutes late, " he added.

The actor was at the school to promote his forthcoming film "Paathshaala" which focuses on the issues related to the education system. It is slated to release Friday and also stars Nana Patekar and Ayesha Takia.

Shahid plays the role of an English teacher in the film.

"The film talks about very important issues regarding children, education and schools. Initially, I was just supposed to do a cameo but then I realised that if I do a bigger role, I will be able to speak about it better, take it to more people and create more awareness about the topics it speaks about, " he said.

Shahid was also quizzed about his childhood crushes, to which he replied: "I was in this school only till Class 4 and at that age you are usually going through a phase when girls don't matter to you and you are only happy with your gang of boys."

"So I wasn't after anyone that time and similarly no girl was after me either, " the actor, who is currently sporting a bearded look for his film "Mausam", quipped.