Holi & The Many Times It Was An Integral Part Of The Film’s Script(Pic Credit: Movie Stills)
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Bollywood films have for decades celebrated the culture of India via its stories, songs, dances and more. As today we celebrate Holi, we bring you some scenes from Bollywood movies that capture the essence of the festival of colours and use it to take its story forward.
The festival has become an essential part to play in films as they either add to the plot or break the monotony of a serious line-up. And the celebration is either done via songs or a backstory occurring side-by-side.
From Padmaavat to Sholay and Darr, check out the many times Holi was used for more than just a song.
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Sholay (1981)
In a high octane dacoit drama like Sholay, Holi Ke Din came as a relief bringing in some much-needed love, hope and colour. This Holi song showed the shameless flirting between Veeru and Basanti and the silent romance between Jai and Radha. This celebration also holds importance as it had Gabbar’s (Amjad Khan) men attacking Ramgarh, and the big secret is revealed – Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar) has no arms.
The festival is incomplete without this iconic Holi song Rang Barse from Silsila. As much as it is enjoyable, this song is also a buildup for what is to come. The song shows the sizzling chemistry between Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) and Chandni (Rekha) while their respected better halves – Jaya Bachchan (Shobha Malhotra) and Sanjeev Kumar (Dr V. K. Anand) – are also present there. The festive song becomes all the important just before Amit starts singing; Chandni tells Shobha that she didn’t marry the man she fell in love with, while in another corner, Amit confesses the same to Dr Anand.
Damini (1993)
While most of the Holi sequences on our list lead to a twist in the story or some or the other revelation, the scenes from Damini formed the crux of the film. During the celebration, Damini (Meenakshi Seshadri)witnesses her brother-in-law and his friends s*xually assault the maid while the family is enjoying the festival. The maid dies in the hospital, and the rape is covered up by her in-laws, leading to Damini stand against her family and fights for justice.
Darr (1993)
There is no denying the fact that during Holi, a lot of guys, especially stalkers, try getting close to a person they like while unrecognizable under layers and layers of colours. This was highlighted in Yash Chopra’s Darr, where Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) professes his love for Kiran (Juhi Chawla) by entering her house. The film’s Holi song, Ang se ang lagana, is followed by a chase sequence between Rahul and Sunil (Sunny Deol).
Padmaavat
There are two focuses on the festival of Holi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. While we see the budding chemistry and love between Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) and Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), we also see Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) enter the palace. The festival of Holi sees a change in Khilji’s strategy wherein he ‘seeks’ peace with the Rajputs with a sinister plan. Khilji colours his face in bright saffron and enters the palace in order to get a glimpse of his desire, aka the Queen.
Also, check out these Holi scenes that played an instrumental part in taking the story forward:
Toilet- Ek Prem Katha
The Holi song – Gori Tu Latth Maar – is symbolic of Keshav (Akshay Kumar) being hit by sticks when he tries to woo Jaya (Bhumi Pednekar), as well as the Latth maar Holi legend of Lord Krishna being shooed away by Radha’s female friends when he came to play Holi with her.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
This was the first time Naina Talwar (Deepika Padukone) shed her introverted nature and ‘chashmish’ look for one we love to date. The scene ends with the gang getting to know Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor) is moving abroad to pursue his dreams.
Mohabbatein
The Holi sequence in YRF’s Mohabbatein begins with Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) asking principal Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) for permission to play Holi in Gurukul with a ‘teeka of gulaal.’ While that’s denied, we see all the couples have a blast celebrating the festival on the roads.
