Bengali Bollywood stars play vermilion with fun on Durga Puja!

The tradition of celebrating the Sindoor Khela event in Bollywood is old. This ritual is considered to be four hundred and fifty years old. When the foundation of the Hindi film industry was coming into existence in Mumbai, there were no less number of filmmakers and artists associated with Bengal here. There is a long list of filmmakers, musicians, and artists of Bengal Brigade, who became a part of Bollywood along with their families. These film families, who deeply believe in art, culture and their beliefs, have always been connected to their culture. The tradition of women gathering in the puja pandal for Durga Puja and playing 'Sindoor Khela' is also old. For the past few years, the city of films, Bollywood, has been busy celebrating Durga Puja with some special enthusiasm.

Although Durga Puja is organized from Panchami to Dussehra, but it gains momentum from Ashtami to Dussehra. This year this event is going to be seen in Mumbai from 20th October to 24th October. Stars reach among the general public by participating in the worship of Maa Durga in the pandals made in areas like Lokhandwala Garden, Juhu Tulip Star, Bandra Link Garden, Kandivali and Gor Gaon West etc.

Shasadhar Mukherjee, Mrinal Sen, Salil Choudhary, Satyajit Ray, Ashok Kumar, Hemant Mukherjee, Tarun Majumdar, Bimal Roy, Vishwajit Chatterjee, Uttam Kumar, Keshto Mukherjee, Asit Sen, Joy Mukherjee, Deb Mukherjee of the famous Mukherjee (S. Mukherjee) family. , Fani Majumdar, Manik Chatterjee, Mithun Chakraborty, Abhijeet, Kumar Sanu, Shaan...there is a long series of film celebrities from Bengal who have been a part of Bollywood with their families. Of course, when they came for films, the Hindi film industry was not called 'Bollywood', today in Bollywood there is a long list of women from Bengali families and on-screen stars who boldly participate in 'Sindoor Khela'.

'Sindoor Khela' is a tradition for which it is said that when Maa Durga leaves her maternal home, she is sent off after applying vermilion and decorating it. On this occasion, women put vermilion on a betel leaf and offer it to Maa Durga and then apply vermilion on a The elders apply vermillion on their feet and the younger ones apply vermillion on their faces, it is like a game of Holi. Bollywood heroines enthusiastically participate in this event. Whether they are married or single, everything is there. If Rakhi and Moushumi Chatterjee did not reach Bandra-Durgotsav till the eighties, it felt incomplete. Similarly, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Vipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen become the attractions of today's special Sindoor Khela when the event is organized under the leadership of singer Abhijeet in Durga Pandal of Lokhandwala. This is the era of daughters Tanuja, Moushumi, Rakhi, Aparna Chaudhary. These new age girls - Kajol Devgan, Rani Mukherjee Chopra, Konkona Sen Sharma have the same love and affection for their culture even after marriage. All of them do not hesitate to participate in Sendur Khela. There is also a tradition of 'Dhunchi dance' on this occasion. Seeing Sushmita Sen dancing on the Dhunchi dance, director Meghna Gulzar also started dancing, Vidya Balan also started dancing... then the entire pavilion was in a frenzy.

The novelty that is being seen these days is that the old heroines enjoy taking advantage of the new heroines on this occasion. The old stars apply vermilion on the cheeks of the unmarried stars and say that next year you too should get married and come to bid farewell to your mother. There is a happy atmosphere to bid farewell to Maa Durga so that she comes happily next year.

-Autumn Ra