Mithai, Puja and charity: TV actors have elaborate Diwali plans

Diwali is just round the corner and our telly actors can’t wait to celebrate the festival. Here is what they plan to do. 

Sehban Azim: Like always, I have few invitations from my friends, so I would be visiting them to celebrate Diwali. The first thoughts that comes to mind with Diwali are lights and illumination. Although there were no such preparations done at my home for Diwali, during my childhood days, it didn’t worry me because every year, I would celebrate it with my friends. As a child, I've seen diyas, candles and lights everywhere. We would wait for Diwali as that would also mean school holidays and a lot of fun with friends and firecrackers to play with. Putting aside the real religious significance of the festival, for someone like me, Diwali means togetherness. It's about bonding with friends and family and celebrating the joys of life and primarily taking the darkness away from each other’s lives. 

Dalljiet Kaur: I'm going to celebrate Diwali in Vadodara as I'm shooting continuously here. Diwali means a lot to me. This is one of my favourite festivals as it depicts light and a new beginning. And also, it's my birthday on Diwali, so it just makes it more special.

Sheeba: My Diwali plans this year include shooting during the day, a lunch with my kids and a game night with them. We later head out for dinner. For the 20 years, we have been going to Pankaj Udas's house for dinner and usually spend Diwali night there. Diwali is a very special because this is when we get to understand our culture. We get to be with family and friends. I make the rangoli every year and do Laxmi Pooja. I decorate the house and cook sweets. 

Ankit Bathla: I am going to celebrate Diwali in Indonesia this year. In fact, this will be my first Diwali away from my family. I still remember as kids we would go to all the relatives’ houses to give gifts and sweets. We would burst so many crackers.  Diwali is a festival of lights, lots of gifts, prayers and I think to top it all up, family bonding. 

Kinshuk Mahajan: I am going to Delhi for Diwali this year. I took off from Bhootu for 3 days and would be celebrating Diwali with family. My fondest memory of the festival is spending it with my grandfather, who is now no more. He used to give us money for Diwali and then I and my sister used to buy chocolates. 

Ankit Siwach: Like every year, I will be going back home to celebrate with family. This time I have planned a surprise as they think I won't be able to make it to Meerut. For the past decade, I have been celebrating a no-cracker Diwali, so I would celebrate the same way and would urge others to do the same as well. 

Shakti Arora: I will celebrate Diwali with my family this year. My fondest memories of the festival are of having get-togethers at my grandfather’s place. The significance of the festival is doing the Diwali rituals with the whole family. We do Laxmi poojan. During this festival, people light up their houses and shops. They worship Lord Ganesha for good welfare and prosperity and Goddess Lakshmi for wealth and wisdom. 

Sneha Wagh: I believe Diwali is to be celebrated with love and happiness, with your family and friends. It is to be shared with your loved ones. I usually celebrate it with my friends and family and we share gifts and lots of sweets. My mother makes good Diwali sweets. Every Diwali is special for me. 

Shashank Vyas : I am in Mumbai this Diwali. From last 7-8 years, I have not burnt a single cracker. It was in the year 2008, I observed a few kids, who were searching for unburnt crackers just after Diwali night and were asking for snacks to eat. I realised that we are busy burning crackers, spending on clothes and sweets, and some people can’t afford that. From that very moment, I cut down my expenses and saved that amount and started giving it to the needy. I will celebrate the festival it with pooja at home followed by an outing with friends. 

Mohammad Nazim :  I remember when I was in school, my friends and I used to celebrate Diwali together.  We used to wander around on bikes, as that time most of the girls would be out shopping. Also, there used to be mela, which I still remember vividly. In the night, we used to burn crackers together with friends. And if some unknown person came in our area, to deliver sweet-boxes, and didn't know the address, we were happy to help. We would volunteer to deliver the sweets but would never deliver them to the right person. I loved eating kaju-katri too during those days. I would be in markotla, my hometown, this year, as my sister is getting married. 

Vahbiz Dorabjee :  I believe in noise free and eco-friendly Diwali. Mumbai already suffers from noise and air pollution. So, we as good citizens should take care of our environment. It has been a busy time as I am shooting for my chat show, Showbiz with Vahbiz. 

Arjun Bijlani : I would celebrate Diwali in Mumbai only with family. I believe in a noise-free and eco-friendly Diwali. I don’t burst crackers. I would request others also not to burst crackers. I will buy gold, diyas, candles and new clothes for my wife and son.. 

Laksh : I would be celebrating Diwali in Mumbai only instead of hometown Delhi. I am shooting for my show Porus, so will be getting only two days off, which I will spend in Mumbai. This would be my third Diwali in Mumbai. This year as well, I will finish the puja at home and then head out to meet my friends. I love Diwali time, I can just feel the festivity in the air. 

Rohit Purohit: I won't be able to go to Jaipur, my hometown, as I am shooting for Porus. I will miss Jaipur Diwali. Jaipur is famous for its lavish Diwali and decoration. Mumbai, of course, will not be the same. But work is important as well and I will catch up with a few friends here. 

Rohit Bhardwaj: I would celebrate Diwali in Mumbai only. Every year, on Diwali Day, I always donate some money to the needy and will be doing so this year as well. Other than that, I will do Laxmi Puja at home and I plan on binging on lots of sweets.  

Chhavvi Pandey - I am shooting everyday so not getting enough time to spend with my family and friends and I feel this is the best time to meet your loved ones and spend some quality time with them. I'll start my day with lakshmi pooja and every year I and my sister make few boxes of sweets with diya and go out and give them to poor people, kids. That really gives me satisfaction though it's not enough but this is my way of celebrating Diwali and also I'm completely against burning crackers.

Taapsee looks stunning on the cover of Femina Wedding Times for their Diwali issue

Taapsee Pannu has been slaying the promotional events grandly and is widely lauded for her apt fashion and style statements. This Stunning Actress is looking drop dead gorgeous and vibrant on the cover page of Femina Wedding Times. 

She looks a diva in this one-shouldered flowing dress by Gaurav Gupta with appropriate dazzling jewelry to add to the ensemble. The official handle of magazine unveiled the cover spread, it wrote This November, catch @taapsee on the cover of @feminaweddingtimes .Photographer: @vikram_bawa ; Make-up: @nickyjaan ; Hair: @seema__hairstylist ; Styling: @lynnsight.Taapsee was last seen in Judwaa 2 and has started shooting for her next Mulk.

Vicky Kaushal takes to the stage

Little do people know that it was the theatre that Vicky Kaushal started his steps into acting. Soon after assisting Anurag Kashyap he was the leading man in the much acclaimed Masaan and since then there's been no looking back for this young lad. This year perhaps has been the most rewarding as Vicky has already shot for three major films which will, in fact, be releasing back to back in the first half of 2018. He will be seen opposite Alia Bhatt in Raazi, will be seen in a pivotal role in the much awaited Dutt biopic and be essaying his romantic hero side in Love Per Square Foot. 

Soon Vicky will commence the shoot of his lead role in the film based on the real-life story of Indian army's surgical strike in Uri and just before that now Vicky is taking to stage, for one special occasion. An upcoming play titled 36 Ghante has 10 writers write a play which will then be picked at random by 10 directors, each getting 12 hours to make and put together a play. The special show has Vicky in it and being the actor in the show, Vicky will only know who his director and which play he would be a part of 12 hours prior to the final performance which is going to take place in Mumbai end of this month. 

When asked Vicky about the play he said, "So this play is called Chattis Ghante which I felt conceptually this play is extremely exciting because this play will happen only this one time only this one night and it is not going to be repeated ever. The concept is that before the show the actors are going to come to know of the co-actors, script, the director only 12 hours before the show. So whatever they have to do is in those 12 hours that they have to prepare the play so that for me was very exciting to take part In the play and also it’s a great initiative by Rage Productions because it’s also fundraiser for theatre where all the collections received from the tickets will be given to the people working backstage who have been working for years in theatre but only backstage so we don’t know who they are but they are also pillars in theatre apart from the actors, directors and play writers. The people who get the set ready, make up artist, costume people, dress dada and everyone the collection is going to be collected and distributed to these people which I thought was a great great great initiative by Rage Productions. Because it had no commitment issues, it’s just one-day commitment and also with such noble and great initiative and also  very exciting process for a creative person involved, so that’s why I am very excited to be a part of this." 

Now that truly is an actor's ultimate challenge to take to the stage and be performance ready within half a day!

Richa and Kalki, from enemies to besties?

Richa and Kalki will be soon seen in their upcoming film Jia Aur Jia where they both playing the character of the same name with a completely different personality of each. Their bonding goes a long way and they share a great equation with each other even before they shot for the film. But before they were good friends once upon a time they couldn’t stand each other. Richa and Kalki had a cold war over a period of a long time at the beginning of their career. Richa was supposed to do Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D, the character which Kalki played. This irked Richa a lot and since then both the actresses rubbed cold shoulder from each other. But in Bollywood nothing last longer especially bitter relationship. Years later they both sorted their differences amicably and once enemies now turned besties. They definitely set an example of friendship in B-town which otherwise believes that no two actresses can truly get along! Well, the two powerhouses prove that if you aren't insecure, the film industry is a great place to make friends.

A STAR-STUDDED INAUGURATION OF AKHILESH KUMAR’S ‘SOCHALAY’… WHERE THOUGHTS EMERGE!

The inaugural ceremony of artist Akhilesh Kumar’s show, Sochalay, saw celebrities of the likes of Dino Morea, Mukesh Rishi, Raghav Rishi, Dilip Joshi, Sukant Panigrahy and artists and art aficionados of the likes of Bose Krishnamachari, Brinda Miller, Raell Padamsee, Arzan Khambatta, Usha Agarwal, Nilesh Kinkale, Madhusudan Kumar, Paramesh Paul, Vishwa Sahni, Sonu Gupta, Shabari Smitha Guha Nath, Maushmi Ganguly, Mallikarjun Katke, Hema Mhatre, Kuldip Karegaonkar, Sunil Bharol, Sanjiv Singh, Anna S Hangargi, Santosh Rathod among others who walked in hordes to cheer the talented artist. 

Artist Akhilesh Kumar, in his current exhibition, Sochalay, has crafted the ‘Indian’ commode in bronze as if a precious and revered object. The toilet, to him, is sheer inspiration as a place for the generation of thoughts. It's a place for contemplation and introspection, especially in the dense urban centers like Mumbai, which are devoid of spaces for individual reflection. Surrounding the mega bronze pot are glass bowls filled with little ceramic seedlings. The transparent bowls signify the human being, the container of thoughts, the creator of ideas and the nurturer of concepts. Many sprouting seeds denote many thoughts, each seed replete with the potential to grow into a tree, a complete eco-system that supports life itself. 

Sochalay, a solo show by Akhilesh Kumar, an artist from Team Po10tial, will be on at the Auditorium, Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, from 17th to 23rd October, 2017.