'They thought I was the one who stole that girl's anklet; I used to steal food, but..'

Manikandan Achari is an actor who became popular among the Malayali audience through the film Kammattipaadam. In a recent interview given to a YouTube channel, the actor recalled a saddening experience from his school days.

"Till Class 4, boys were allowed to study in the girls' school. That’s how I joined there. I was a boy filled with so much energy that I could not sleep at night. If I went out, I would make friends with everyone. I even went to school with two sets of clothes- my uniform and another outfit for playing," Manikandan said.

"One day, a girl’s gold anklet went missing. A teacher immediately assumed that I had stolen it. I don’t want to reveal the teacher’s name- he might still be alive and I don’t want to hurt him. He pinched my hand and argued that I should be expelled from the school," he said.

"I wasn't good at studies. I used to roll bits of paper and throw them around. I also used to take the tiffin boxes of other students and eat their omelette and curd during the interval before the afternoon. I did steal food, but I never wanted anything else. I ate whatever I could when my tongue craved some taste. Because of this, my mother was called to the school. After that, she decided on her own that I should not continue studying there. In the meantime, that girl got her anklet back. Everyone realised that I hadn't stolen the anklet, but my mother stood firm on her decision that I should not study there," he added.