'It's fun unlimited!'

It’s time for tinsel town to celebrate Deepavali as well.

And actors, from all industries, just can’t wait to take a break from their hectic schedule and spend quality time with their families.

Deepavali is all about celebrating life with lots of sweets, good homemade food — which they often miss when they are away shooting — and catching up with their friends. And so the festival is inevitably about satiating one’s taste buds as much as the pujas and rituals.
Some of the actors have already begun distributing gifts and sweets among their friends and families. Metrolife speaks to a few actors and asks them about their plans for the festival.

Shivarajkumar: “Deepavali means a lot of lights, sweets and merriment — but this year, owing to an illness in the family, our celebrations are a little low-key. But every year, I make it a point to spend time with my family.” 

Upendra: “My children love crackers and I spend all the three days bursting crackers with them. New clothes and sweets are an inevitable part of the festival. We have friends and family who come visiting. It’s fun unlimited.” 

Soha Ali Khan: “As a child, we lived in Delhi and Deepavali would be
celebrated in true Delhi style at an opulent farmhouse party, with an elaborate fireworks display, food, dance and merriment till the early hours of the morning — often, trips to the hospital were included as someone inevitably burnt a hand or a foot while setting of a rocket or a bomb. In recent years, Deepavali has taken on a less risky and more environmentally-friendly tone — we light diyas in and around the house, perform a puja and eat sweets till we pop!”

Karthi: “We’re expecting our baby soon, so this year is special for us. I will be spending Deepavali with my in-laws. We don’t burst too many crackers because of the pollution. And I am on a strict diet, so I will be missing out on all the good food.”     

Raveena Tandon: “We don’t burst crackers. We only light the conventional sparklers. Every Deepavali, we have a family dinner and I make the prasad for the puja. I really like this season because there are little lamps lit in every home and the atmosphere is bright.” 

Haripriya: “Deepavali is really big for us. I take off shooting for two days and spend time with family and friends. Deepavali begins with a puja and my mother makes all the sweets I like to gorge on. As children, we used to burst a lot of crackers but now, we
realise the value of money and the pollution it leaves behind so we keep it at minimum.” 

Jayam Ravi: “The last five years, Deepavali has been very different for me. I got
married and then we had our son. Every year, I go and buy the crackers myself because I have very specific tastes when it comes to crackers. Everybody comes together for
Deepavali and it’s truly exciting.” 

Actress Sharmila Mandre is busy shooting for her Telugu film in Hyderabad. Sharmila says that Deepavali is very special for her, “We celebrate Deepavali every year and I decorate my house with diyas and candles. I tend to put on a lot of weight during this time because I cannot control myself from gorging on all the great food. I don’t believe in bursting crackers because I don’t like the way it is made.” 

As told to Nina C George