Imagine– Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the US, and one of his key meetings are with the creators of Wall-E because their film was about global warming and human waste.

That didn’t happen, obviously. But, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited India, she met up with Aamir Khan. Before you scratch your heads, it’s because Khan is the brand ambassador for The Times of India’s Teach India Initiative. Why is a Bollywood star the brand ambassador for the program? Because he made a movie about a dyslexic child’s struggle with the Indian school system.

Before you think I’m pulling an Arundhati Roy and think it’s ridiculous for actors to voice their opinion or take a stance with social issues, let me tell you that I think what Khan’s doing is brilliant– and here’s why.

Years ago, I wrote an opinion editorial about Lage Raho Munnabhai’s incredible achievement of reviving Gandhi’s teachings in India (yes, Gandhigiri was so forgotten that it needed reviving). I thought it was incredible– and I thought, this is why Bollywood is great. Everyone watches mainstream Bollywood films. And if made right, they really can have an incredible social impact. Aamir Khan’s directorial debut Taare Zameen Par was one such film that highlighted a huge problem in Indian society. I’m not sure how much of an impact it had, if any, on the educational system in India, but it was definitely a topic that needed the limelight.

Khan and Clinton had an important conversation on the many problems in Indian education, like the lack of diversity in majors students pursue, or the style of teaching that the majority of teachers use. Usually, talks about education in India center around the need to make sure rural areas and women are getting a good education. Of course, that’s a topic of utmost importance. But a focus on the current methods of teaching that will impact future students must also be reviewed.

Aamir Khan, as many Bollywood actors, have been criticized for their support of different social issues (such as the Narmada dam). If Bollywood stars are capable of bringing important topics to focus, then I’m all for Bollywood stars getting active with social issues.