DEEPIKA’S DIWALI: MAKE IT BRIGHTER

Being a top Bollywood star is mostly great, but it also means less family time — Deepika Padukone admits that every year, on Diwali, she misses her “family more and more”. She says, “When the festival comes, I’m reminded of all the Diwalis that I’ve celebrated as a child with my parents.” This year, Deepika won’t be able to travel to Bangalore due to her commitments to her next release, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati, but she still calls this “a very interesting time for me”. She says, “I still feel as if I’m carrying Padmavati’s soul with me. At the same time, it’s also the time to celebrate, not just Diwali but also the fact that the film is releasing. “All of it is coming together, so, I can feel the excitement in the air.” For Deepika, Diwali — “at a deeper level” — is the “festival of lights”. She says, “I believe it’s necessary that we celebrate this Diwali with more enthusiasm than before, because it has been a rough couple of months and years for us — socially, economically and politically. There’s so much going on in the world that a festival like Diwali brings so much joy into people’s lives.” What special memories does she have of the festival? “Those days were simple and I remember helping out my mother. Everything is still very organised at my home. So everything comes in a small packet, from diyas to rangolis and lights to other things. It’s a ritual, so we don’t have to think every year about what we have to do. We’ve celebrated it for so many years that all of it comes naturally,” says the actor. Although Deepika will stay put in Mumbai this year, she is “not going to sit at home.” She adds, laughing, “There’s no way that’s happening. There’s so much to celebrate right now. I will definitely be out somewhere.”