Isha Ambani recently hosted a party to celebrate the festival of colours and many celebrities including Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas were in attendance. The Holi bash saw everyone sporting pristine white designer wear and smear colour on each other by the pool. The photos and videos seemed fun but also far removed from how we (commonfolk) mark the occasion. Deepika Padukone’s idea of Holi, however, is more in sync with ours.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, the actress candidly revealed how the festival was not as enthusiastically celebrated in South India in comparison to the North and how she wore old clothes while playing with colour.
“One of the things we all always got [on Holi] was a public holiday. So, there was no school, and since I grew up in an apartment [in Bengaluru], there would be a lot of friends. I remember all of us getting together to play Holi. Since I am someone who has always been about being ‘clean’, I had to be prepared much in advance that, ‘Holi aa rahi hai, so I’ve to keep aside an old set of clothes.’ At that time, there were no organic colours; it was all about hard colours which don’t come off for weeks.
I remember my parents telling me to apply a lot of oil on my face, hair and skin so that colours don’t get into the skin that much, and would come off easily. And there was no way we could roam around after playing Holi, as we were supposed to head straight into the shower in order to not mess up the house.”
Talking about her favourite aspect of the day she said, “I think it’s the feeling of sheer abandon. The other festivals are more ritualistic whereas Holi is one festival where there’s a lot of abandon. And what’s what sets it apart from other festivals.”
When asked about the worst aspect she added, “Eggs, I feel, is a bit too much. And I have an interesting story about eggs, my mum and Holi.”
“I had come to the city for a day with mum for an audition for a soap brand. After I finished my audition in the morning, we decided to go to meet my granddad, who lives in Peddar Road. From suburbs, we took a taxi and once we reached, mum said, ‘since it is Holi, let’s not take a chance. Let’s not get down [across the road from the building] and walk on foot to cross the road. Instead, we can take a U-turn’. I was like, ‘mum, it doesn’t make any sense. The roads are so empty, so we can cross the road walking’. While we were crossing the road, a group of boys threw eggs at us, which hit my mum. The whole day, she smelt of eggs as it went into her hair also.”
Deepika also opened up about how she celebrated Holi with Ranveer Singh before marriage and her plans for tomorrow.
“We both have always celebrated festivals. So, as much as possible, we try and be in the city, with family. We did the same even before marriage. So, nothing has changed as such, apart from the fact that earlier, the main celebration would take place in my house. Now, we [Ranveer and I] do a small pooja in our house and then we go to our in-laws’ home where everyone is together. So, it’s a bigger celebration. If our respective parents can be together [on that day], that’s the best thing. Otherwise, my in-laws are here so a part of the family is always around. We don’t do anything very elaborate. For us, the main idea of festivals or holidays is to spend quality time together.
Ranveer called me up a couple of days back in the evening, and the first thing he asked me was if I am working [on the Holi day]. Sometimes, it’s really unavoidable. But as much as possible, we try and be with each other on festivals. Since no one else works on that day, it’s a great day to spend time with one another. Also, I’m going to leave for my outdoors soon, for about a month or month-and-a-half to Sri Lanka. So, Holi gives me an opportunity to spend quality time with my family before I go.”
How are you planning to celebrate tomorrow? Tell us.