B’wood Diwali: Some will party or take a break, a few will work

New Delhi (IANS) – Bollywood stars are set to have a sparkling and glittery Diwali on Sunday, with some planning to throw lavish parties and others taking a break from work to spend time with friends and family. A few others will have to contend with a working Diwali.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan will celebrating the festival of lights in Mumbai with his family.

“I would love to spend Diwali here but there are a couple of parties back in Mumbai that we have to attend. That has become a culture. So, I have to rush back,” Shah Rukh said while sharing his Diwali plans at an event in Delhi earlier this week.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has planned to add some more sparkle to the festival with a party, which is expected to be attended by many of Bollywood bigwigs, including Sidharth Malhotra.

Big Diwali bashes are also expected from celebrities such as Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Ekta Kapoor.

Actor Taapsee Pannu is “spending time with family like every Diwali”.

“Difference being I have called my parents to Mumbai this time instead of going to Delhi myself. I will follow the ritual of making rangoli and painting diyas. I will do a small ardas at home and have dinner together,” Taapsee said.

Sharing her Diwali plans, actress Sonakshi Sinha said: “I’m not working on Diwali day fortunately because I think the entire industry takes an off on this auspicious day! My plans are to do the pooja at home and then go visit some friends who are having Diwali parties at their homes.”

The actress says she “prefers to spend festivals with family but if i have to work I’m okay with that too… because you know what they say — work is worship”.

Malaika Arora will celebrate Diwali in Mumbai with family and close friends. “Bard of Blood” star Kirti Kulhari also has a similar plan.

Alia Bhatt is going to have a working Diwali as she will be shooting for “Sadak 2” in Ooty.

“Article 15” actress Sayani Gupta also plans to work on her script.

“I have come to Chhattisgarh for a film shoot and on Diwali I will just be lighting some diyas and quietly sit in my room and work on my character and script,” Sayani said, adding that wishes that “we could just light up our houses with diyas and candles and refrain from bursting fire crackers”.

Actress Richa Chadha will be having a “peaceful Diwali with prayers and lights”.

“With all of our busy schedules, my parents insist that all of us must be in the same city for the festival whenever possible,” the “Fukrey star said, adding: “As a kid growing up in Delhi, Diwali was very hectic with our families doing the annual ‘Diwali gifting’ trips for two weeks before and after the festival”.

“The good thing about this exercise was that we got to meet relatives at least that one time every year. Now, Diwali is about the parties, cleaning up and being conscious about the needs of others. We have never really burst crackers, so this year won’t be any different,” she added.

It’s family time for actor Pulkit Samrat as well.

“As per our Diwali tradition, we are going to have a family dinner with a wide spread of our favourite dishes and sweets. It’s one of the few occasions where we indulge in delicious ‘mithais’ and say bye to our diets. As every year, it’s going to be an eco-friendly Diwali for me, I urge everyone to do the same for the sake of the environment and the poor animals that are afraid of the loud noises,” Pulkit said.

Actor Zaheer Iqbal says he is going to celebrate big and “make up for last year as I couldn’t celebrate cause I was at shoot in Kashmir”.

“Paltan” star Sonal Chauhan said: “I will be spending it with my family in Delhi. Diwali while growing up had a different meaning. For me, it was a holiday when the whole family used to get together, good food and mithai and holidays from school.”

The meaning of Diwali has changed for Sonal.

“Now, Diwali means getting an opportunity to spend time with my family. Bursting of cracker is not there. I have grown up and I have realised that it was the worst thing we used to do as kids,” she said.

“Ujda Chaman” star Maanvi Gagroo will be spending the festival with her friends in Mumbai.

“We don’t have grand plans for Diwali this year as I lost my grandfather…Usually, I am in Delhi with with family. This year, I was busy shooting and promoting ‘Ujda Chaman’. I am looking forward to see how Mumbai celebrates Diwali,” Maanvi said.

–IANS
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