Holi Special: No work, all colourful play on Holi, say TV actors

Their hectic schedule rarely gives them free time for fun and celebrations. This Holi, however, TV actors like Gurmeet Choudhary, Shashank Vyas and Rati Pandey have decided to take a break from work and celebrate the festival of colours with their near and dear ones.

Gurmeet, currently playing male lead in "Punar Vivah", is looking forward to having masti with wife Debina Bannerjee, who is busy with the comedy show "Chidyaghar", and their friends.

"I will be spending this Holi with my wife Debina and a few friends. We are up to a lot of masti with our closest friends who we invite over to our home. Unlike the last few years, I am just hoping that this year I don't have to shoot on the day so that I can go ahead and make special plans with my family and friends," he said.

Ujjain boy Shashank plays Jagdish in the daily soap "Balika Vadhu" and says this year he wants to revive the memories of his childhood.

"Since childhood, Holi has been my favourite festival because in Ujjain, I used to have lot of fun playing Holi with my friends and family and we used to gorge on gujiyas and other sweets prepared especially for the festival. Luckily, this year, I am taking some time off to celebrate Holi with friends," he said.

Rati Pandey may come across as an unsmiling, tough girl Indira in the show "Hitler Didi", but in reality she is full of fun and plans to have a colourful blast with the cast and crew of the show.

"Being from a small town, Holi has always been a huge celebration with friends and family. I remember spending hours trying to scrub off the colour from my face as a child! This year I will be celebrating Holi with my surrogate family (cast and crew of Hitler Didi) on the sets for sure," said the actress who is from Patna.

Avika Gor, currently seen in "Sasural Simar Ka", reveals: "Holi is another way of spelling fun for me. It's a festival that brings together people, big and small, old and young. No one expects you to be polite, you get to be naughty and get away with it as well. From the gulal to the balloons and the pichkaris, I love it all. What I love the most is dunking someone in the water and then saying, 'Bura mat mano, par aaj Holi hai!' Have a happy Holi."

For Sameer Soni of "Parichay" fame, it will be an eco-friendly Holi.

"Holi is the festival of colours. But I have always believed in playing a safe and eco holi. I always play a dry holi, I do not like to waste water. Use colours that are friendly for your skin as well. I would like to wish all my friends a safe and happy Holi."

Navneet Nishan doesn't enjoy "Holi hooliganism", so plans to keep it a low key affair.

"I usually play it a little low key around Holi as I'm not the kind to enjoy the hooliganism. Coming from a hearty Punjabi family, I used to enjoy the festival with my cousins and friends when I was younger. But then, it was about getting together, enjoying bhaang and splashing each other with pichkaaris. These days, I let neighbours do a gulaal teeka on my forehead at best!"

But Kunal Karan Kapoor, currently seen in "Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha", describes the festival as "a perfect mix of lavish sweets, lots of colours and melodious songs".

"I still recall dancing to 'Rang barse', playing pranks and throwing buckets of water standing on my terrace while I celebrated Holi with my friends and cousins. I will be celebrating Holi this year with the 'Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha' family on the sets and then I will join my friends to have some colourful fun," he added.

(Photo: Rati Pandey)